The END Journey
by The wiErDos Association
Summary: When the book was finally unsealed, Natsu struggles to fight for his own self. Will he try to defy his own existence or will he come to accept it? With an unlikely companion at his side, both of them will undergo a different journey far from what they would've expected and eventually discover their true feelings with each other. But what about Fairy Tail and his old family?
1. Prologue

**A/N: Sup guys! wiErD here and I got a new story for you so I'll just write this prologue down just to keep this story idea alive before expanding it. As you can see, it's a crack pairing in which I found interesting the most.**

 **And probably, this will feature a lot of ENDiness of Natsu so for those who like END being unleashed, I've got the right story for you.**

 **Have fun and Happy Reading :)**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own FT nor its elements. All goes to Hiro Mashima.**

* * *

 **\- Prologue: The Truth Behind it All -**

It was a hard fought battle for them.

They never thought that this battle would give the scars weighing down to their hearts as sacrifices are made between friends and families in order to break through the hopelessness of the situation. There are times where they have come to decisions that soon changed them into many different ways and move on to the future.

The battle between fairies and demons has finally ended although it was unprecedented that Acnologia made his appearance once more and caused more destruction and despair among the people.

Everyone would've died in his hands if not for the dragons who also appeared out of nowhere and helped the humans against their fight with Tartaros and the Black Dragon of the Apocalypse altogether.

For sure they drove him back but with a heavy price as Natsu stared tearfully at the torn body of his foster dragon who now lay defeated and was on the verge of death after taking a brutal hit from the black dragon. He was just right there, standing helplessly as his father was mercilessly killed in front of him, unable to do anything to save him even after all the years he's been training to become stronger.

For years, he's been searching to reunite with his foster dragon yet-

.

.

-it was for a moment until he was gone once again, this time finally forever.

He didn't want it. He wanted to share all the things he had experienced in his life during his sudden disappearance. The things that he wanted to tell to him for not seeing him for all these years. Not to mention, the number of people and friends that he met along the way.

There's just... too many things for him to tell him about his life but-

.

.

It was all over.

He never got the chance to say anything nor to say something to remind him of all the memories he shared even without his presence.

"Igneel... Don't leave me." His words followed by a wave of tears from his eyes as the body of the defeated dragon king begins to glow in bright light, seemingly disappearing in his eyes once more.

Despite his cries, there was no response. Nor any words to part him with as a large array of light shone over the distance. Natsu probably thought the same thing that would happen to the other dragons as well since he caught a glimpse of them flying around it before disappearing for eternity.

He's pretty sure that the others also felt the same but not to the extent of this sadness and despair as him.

"Why?! Why am I so goddamn weak?!" He cursed himself for not being able to become stronger that his father wanted him to be.

Dragonslayer? Is that title even worthy to him? He can't even take down a single dragon on his own dammit! There is a huge gap between him and the dragons that he fought back at the Eclipse Gate. He hated himself for not being able to fulfill the role of the dragonslayer that Igneel entrusted him so much about.

Is it really unavoidable? For him and the others to be not powerful enough to stand up on their own against these enemies? Are they just fated to lose their parents at the very first place?!

Those questions simply buried right inside his mind, remaining unanswered as the flickering lights from his father's body finally disappeared right in front of him forever, leaving him alone once more in this ravaged battlefield.

And finally for the first time ever, he felt cold.

"So Igneel even never stood up a chance, huh?" It was then a voice resounded from out of nowhere as Natsu was able to recognize its voice and alarmingly turned towards his side as he saw the infamous Black Mage standing over at a distance, staring at the place where Igneel last disappeared into.

Despite his usual expressionless nature, it was odd to see him showing signs of sympathy over to the fallen dragon as if he was related to it.

"Zeref!" Uttering the name of Black Mage himself, Natsu gritted in anger as he found the perpetrator who's behind all of this.

Without thinking, he lashed out to him in pure rage as flames spew out from his fists and launched his attack on him. However, Zeref never showed any signs of backing away as he met his flaming fists directly, staggering himself in the process but sustaining no damage at all as if it didn't even hurt a single bit.

He never even regarded the dragonslayer's hostility and capability to be a threat to him. After all, he could kill him anytime he wants to with his magic alone but-

.

.

he never wanted to all that since he was his...

"You killed him! I'll never forgive you!" Natsu shouted in rage as he continuously poured out his power towards him without stopping as his attacks hit their marks and was pushing him back in the process but Zeref never showed any signs of pain in him and was freely taking his attacks head-on.

"This was still the same ever since back at Tenrou Island... Natsu." He spoke in a monotone but Natsu ignored him and continued on his onslaught against him.

"This time will be different!" He declared as his body suddenly begins to form up scales and his face having scaly-like features, signifying his use of the Dragon Force at his own free will for the second time.

True enough, the power delivered towards him got even more powerful as Natsu sent the black mage away from the vicinity and crashed into a distance but not before long Natsu caught up with him and continued deliver more powerful attacks on him without stopping.

.

.

However, despite his new power and final form as a dragonslayer, Zeref never once took any real damage. His face was full of scratches but there's not a single pain to feel with as the pinkette's attacks were nothing to him. With an instant regeneration, he returned back to his normal self as Natsu felt shocked to see that his attacks had no effect on him whatsoever.

Even with the use of his Dragon Force, there was no real damage at all.

Just how powerful is this person?

Eventually, he was beginning to lose power and the form cannot stay for a bit longer as Natsu had his scales disappear on him once more, giving him a huge wave of exhaustion as he went down on his knees, heavily panting from the overuse of his powers just now.

Even with that, Zeref only looked at him with the same expression as before.

"It seems that you're not even strong enough to kill me, Natsu... ... Should you become stronger at this era, the world might stand a chance once again and probably end the cycle of destruction but-

-you're not that powerful enough to even match against him. Igneel had his own way to making you stronger but it seems like he failed."

Hearing the name of his foster dragon, Natsu looked at him with confusion despite his weary condition.

"W-What do you know about my father?!" Instead of answering him, he simply gazed off into distance, recalling the past events that he had with the late Fire Dragon King in which Natsu had no knowledge of.

There was a moment of silence between them until he began his side of the story.

"E.N.D." He spoke in which caught Natsu's attention as he began to mention the same book that Igneel wanted him to retrieve back from Mard Geer but right now, the book is in the Black Mage's possession. Who knows what would happen if ever tried to use the book right now?

There would be a massacre since he and his friends are still coping at the loss and energy from their fight against the last head of the Balam Alliance.

"What are you talking about?" He replied with irritation as eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"The book that Igneel wanted to take from the demons of Tartaros... He longed to get it in his hands since that book resides the most powerful Etherious that I've ever created."

"Of course he would! That book is dangerous for anyone to be held by someone like you."

"You're wrong... It is not by the reason that it's dangerous to him but rather-

-it's something that he wanted to keep it in order protect you." He revealed which only surprises him even more as he somehow knew his relation with Igneel as his foster son.

"H-How did you know about that?!" He demanded an answer but Zeref could only shook his head with his eyes closed in wonder.

"It's a memory of the past... However, with things right now, I guess there's no need to hide it any further..." He paused before looking back at the exhausted dragonslayer in front of him.

"I'm Zeref Dragneel... I'm your brother, Natsu Dragneel." He placed a blank smile as if it heeded no emotions that fits his character.

It was then Natsu was shocked to hear such a ridiculous claim.

Zeref? His brother? That's total bull! How in the world would he be related to a man from the past to the him?

Sure, he knew his relationship between him and Igneel but that doesn't mean that he claims to be his legitimate brother. He had no family other than Igneel himself. There must be some sort of mistake here!

"Stop all saying such crap! That's impossible!" He shouted in defiance.

"Perhaps I could prove it to you in some other way..." He paused as he summoned the book of E.N.D on his hand which caught his attention.

"... This has been the attention of some other cults as well since I created this to be the most powerful Etherious that may even rival that of Acnologia as well. It's no coincidence of why Acnologia wanted to destroy E.N.D. because it's a threat to his domination. I'm not here to explain the history of it. Rather, I'm here to show you what this book really is and why it was important to Igneel as well."

He dropped the book down to the ground as Natsu carefully watched it fall as Zeref continued once more.

"E.N.D- No, or should I say Etherious Natsu Dragneel." He slightly smirked as Natsu widened his eyes in shock at the real meaning of the book itself.

"W-What!"

"That is you, Natsu... You're the strongest demon I've ever created. My own brother infused with the power of the strongest Etherious."

"Cut the crap already! I ain't listening to the same shit you're trying to say-" A striking pain went up from his bottom chest as Zeref launched a dark beam towards the book itself in which case, it reacted to the same as Natsu's body who could only scream in pain as his body was instantly shot up with huge loads of pain afterwards.

"See? You were never one to listen... ... I'm here for you to acknowledge your existence."

"I-I-I won't!" He denied.

"Then I'll remind you something again, Natsu... ... In time, only two will be able to meet me again in the future. Whether it would be you or E.N.D. himself will be able to make it to the very end." He turned around to leave as he left the book before it started glowing it dark red as flames surrounded it before vanishing completely and turned into a sea of red fire before flying towards Natsu who could only shield his eyes in response.

The flames sipped into his body as a large surge of power was felt by him in which his body also goes for a dramatic change. His hair was starting to turn crimson and his eyes glowing in bright red color, signifying that of a beast.

The once bright color of his flames, forever replaced with dark crimson color. His canines become more sharp than ever and two protruding small horns slowly began to appear above his head until a large pain surged again all over his body, causing him to lose his strength and succumbed into its torture as the transformation continued.

"W-What's happening?!"

"I simply returned right where the book is... ... Mard Geer was oblivious of this. There is no such thing as the revival of E.N.D... After all, he is just sleeping, waiting to be awakened once again. You and him are one... Both loved by Igneel so much that he didn't want to finish you after all. And instead, he tried to teach you the ways of life..." A light smile went on towards his lips as he turned around away before vanishing but not before he parted with his last words over to the pinkette once more.

"The final battle is approaching... ... I want you to surpass me, Natsu... I hope that you would gain your power enough to eradicate both me and Acnologia altogether..."

And with that, his body faded into distance, leaving the distraught pinkette alone with many shocking truths and revelations that he still wanted to process inside his mind. The truth behind his past and his nature has finally come into light.

There was no other way to deny it.

He was E.N.D.

The person behind this pain and suffering. The one who inflicted a lot of scars towards his friends and brought them sadness.

Guilt instantly went through his heart as tears immediately poured out from his eyes, ignoring his transformation but rather realizing the fact that he caused all this mess and hurt his friends without even knowing it.

He started it all.

"W-What have I done?"

* * *

 **A/N: And stop! That goes for the prologue. Hope ya like it.**

 **Alright, this is the part where the journey begins with Natsu as END from now on. Of course, I would try to retain some of his personality but some would be changed since the truth was finally revealed to him. The awakening is just beginning of course, the story might focus on his inner turmoil between his END nature. Should he deny the powers or just accept it as part of his own kind of thing.**

 **Anyways, the story is just as the same with the others so it will receive some updates but not regularly unless I got the drive. Even so, I'd like to hear out your thoughts on this new story in order for me to think up all the new things that might come in the future chapters also.**

 **Thanks again for reading, I'll see you in the next chapter.**

 **\- wiErD SpeCtrumz blacking out... ... ...**


	2. An Unlikely Companion

**A/N: Sup my fellow readers. wiErD here and I've finally got the first chapter to you guys.**

 **Let me remind that the story takes place in the aftermath of the battle between Fairy Tail and Tartaros. For those who are waiting for Sayla to appear, I think she might be here in the chapter as well.**

 **This is a journey for the two of them together, fighting what's right or wrong with romance sprouting in between.**

 **Anyways, let's get to the story.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail or its characters. Hiro Masima owns them by right.**

* * *

 **\- An Unlikely Companion -**

 _It was cold._

The tiny raindrops continue to splatter down unto the hard ground as clouds covered the skies, dying the landscape in a eerily dull grey color. Thunders roared at the distance which begun with lightning appearing from within the clouds itself.

A sole figure slowly trudged along the dirt path as his pink hair is slowly drenched in the rain together with his clothes. His face hung low, forever looking at the ground in despair. And his expression matches that of the dull landscape before him.

One oddity on his features is the two small horns located at the top of his head in which he soon began to cover it with a cloak in order to conceal from the eyes of the onlookers. Luckily, there was no one around him as he solely walked blindly to the road without knowing his destination.

He wanted to get away as far as possible. From Fairy Tail, from his friends. _'_

After all, how could he face them in his current state?

He was the source of it all. The source of their troubles and their sufferings as they fought Tartaros in which he was the guild master.

It didn't make sense to him of how he created such a guild like that. Zeref never told him anything yet but the truth of him being E.N.D. is genuine. His sudden change was proof of that but-

.

.

He just don't want to believe all of it. In all his life, he'd never do anything to hurt his comrades, his family. He'd rather fight for them for as long as he could and this revelation of him being END who created Tartaros in which killed thousands of innocent people simply weighed down his heart to the point that he cannot seem to find a way to correct all of this.

Was he really this ruthless before? Is this the life that he had before meeting Igneel 14 years back?

He didn't know and he didn't want to remember all of it.

The only thing worth doing right now is getting away as far as possible from his friends. It was the most wise decision that he had ever chose in order for them to be safe from him. Who knows if someone were to be hurt yet again because of him.

Thinking back on his friends, memories flashed right into his mind like river as if reminiscing them for only a short time. Images of his team and his family back at the guild played inside his mind and he could only give a bitter smile unto himself, seeing that how much he had caused them pain in that fight.

 _'I wonder what everyone_ _feels_ _now that I'm gone?'_ He thought about his friends back but he suddenly erased his thoughts about them since they've still yet to know about his disappearance.

He worried about Happy.

Now that he's gone, he will be left alone. Just like how Igneel left him without saying anything back when he was a child. He blamed himself for being such a horrible friend and father to him.

.

.

However, this was for the best. In order to keep them from harm's way, he had to get away from them as far as possible. He can no longer return back to the place where he usually calls home.

The warmth of his friends' presence are no longer there, only his own cursed flame will warm him in the cold nights from now on.

It's a sad fate indeed. For a demon like him.

Feeling another surge of pain coming out from his head, Natsu felt like the power is starting to tear him apart. With his hands on his head, he slightly crouched down in order to focus on the pain and tried to suppress it with his own power.

After the book merged into him, he felt something rather ominous coming from his power as his flames grew darker than before. As of now, he was trying to suppress it with his own will in order to keep himself from running amok.

He remembered the words that Zeref left to him before he vanished.

..

-That he'll come to acknowledge his existence as the strongest demon he'd ever created.

Natsu only winced as he hastily buried that thought away before standing defiantly towards the cloudy skies.

No!-

He will not acknowledge it!

He is Natsu Dragneel, not some demon created by a mass murderer. No matter what happens, he will try to find a way in order to prevent this power from controlling him. He swore himself that he will never use this ever again.

With that mindset, he continued on his journey down to the road and eventually disappeared into distance.

..

..

As the rain continued, a mysterious cloaked figure was seen on the far distance to where the pinkette was. Stopping for a moment, he observed the figure before him from the distance. Just like him, his clothes was somehow drenched from the weather except for his head which was covered by the cloak.

After a few minutes as the pinkette continued his walk, the figure followed as well though keeping a far distance in order not to get noticed by him.

..

..

..

Another few hours of walking and the day has finally shifted to the afternoon but the clouds never even changed at that time as the sky was still covered by grey and dark clouds hovering above. The only difference right now is the rain as it finally stopped, leaving only the world with puddles and pools of water covering the ground in its aftermath.

The sun was not able to light its way to the ground since the clouds continue to obscure its presence from Earthland, giving the ground a lot of time to dry up.

Natsu stopped for a moment in the nearby forest as he grabbed a fruit from one of the trees as his food source after walking non-stop. He doesn't know this place since he blindly took on any road he had come across to, just to get away from Fairy Tail as possible.

He sat in a nearby large rock as which was located at the side of the road while also looking at the landscape before him. It was somewhat strange to see the lack of people passing by in this area. Even after walking for many hours, he had not seen a single soul just yet.

He was quite relieved since his powers weren't acting up the way they are from before.

Well, he was fortunate to see all this fair results for now as he didn't want any of the people finding out his true identity and probably having his power suddenly bursting out of control.

Sighing for the first time in this journey, Natsu silently ate the fruit. With his one hand rested on his cloak in order to conceal his horns, he used the other in order to eat the fruit. Time slowly passed before him as he gazed over to the blurry sunset before him but the thickness of the clouds simply made it hard for him to gaze at its wonderful scenery.

It didn't help him further as he found the fruit quite sour for his taste.

"It's awful." He muttered to himself before throwing it away and tried to think.

..

..

A few minutes later, a group of thugs eventually came across the road and took notice of the dragonslayer's concealed figure as they moved closer to him in very intimidating way.

"Well, lookie here... We got ourselves a traveler..." One of the thugs smirked in response before taking out a magic embedded knife from his pocket and pointed it to the pinkette without mercy.

"Hand over your valuables, boy."

Natsu never replied and simply stayed on his own position as if they were really never there. Sure enough, his still-like response to them simply ticked them off as they all brought their weapons before the dragonslayer with their face filled with killing intent.

"Are you ignoring us?!"

"You heard him? I said, hand over your things or we'll cut that throat of yours." They threatened but Natsu could only move a little as he simply grabbed one of the thug's knife and simply burned it away with ease much to their shock. The flames were redder and darker than it was before.

It was also his first time calling out his flames after that incident.

On the other hand, the thugs were simply taken aback from the pinkette's powers as they were left in fear to see him standing up once again and summoned a dark red flame from his hand as if he was about to scorch them away.

"I-It's a mage!"

"Shit! Run!" Due to their overwhelming fright, they ran away from him and simply left their things with him in order to get away from him as far as possible. Despite them being as normal humans, they could sense as malevolent aura circling around the pinkette just now and they made the right choice to run away from him, fearing for their lives.

As soon as the thugs were gone, Natsu dissipated his flames before looking down straight to his hand and saw the change of his power. Ever since, the book merged into him, his powers were far stronger than it was before though he couldn't help but feel that it has been corrupted and that the power is slowly coming in towards him as if it was swallowing him whole.

Setting his thoughts about his powers aside, he looked down on the dropped items of the thugs earlier and simply took out some consumables for his own. A new set of clothes which consisted of a black coat with red trimmings on the edges, a pair of black shoes and loose dark pants for the coat itself. It was also accompanied by a black cloak. There were two pairs of the clothing inside the baggage together with some foods in it.

Natsu could only wonder where those thugs had stolen these kinds of things. It would only bother him if he had taken possession of this stolen items for his own gain however-

.

.

-with things right now and the place where they had stolen these clothes are probably far away by now. There's no need to play mister goody-two-shoes here. If Erza was right here, he would've been beaten half to death.

He soon took the clothes for himself and replaced his own tattered ones and eventually burned them away in order to leave no evidence or trace of him.

Somehow it fitted him perfectly, seeing that it was not that short nor long for his own taste. The matching colors of his clothes might help him blend in the dark too, save for his pink hair. He solved that problem as he placed a hood together with his horns as well.

"Why did you let them go?" It was then a feminine voice resounded from behind as he widen his eyes in shock before looking back in alarm towards the unknown figure behind him.

His eyes darted over to the wounded figure of a woman dressed in a somewhat beige-colored leopard kimono outfit which was also dirtied in the process. It was strapped unto a torso with a thick, decorative yellow ribbon that ties behind her back. Below her was a pair of high socks that reaches unto her thighs though with her feet lacking any foot wear as she was already walking barefoot, seeing that they were sore at the moment, probably from the walking during the rain.

Despite that appearance, Natsu never left his guard down and raised his fists and defense.

"Y-You smell something similar... By the way, who're you?!"

The figure never replied but instead, she unveiled her tattered cloak from him as it revealed a pair of large golden horns protruding from the side of her head. A white band is seen upon her hair, seemingly to separate her hair from the sides while also framing her bangs in the process which also revealed a rather odd-looking symbol on her forehead.

Looking at her horns, Natsu could only realize of what type of person she is.

With a stuttering reply, he could only point out a finger towards her.

"Y-You're-"

"Sayla... ... I've come to reunite with my Master..."

..

..

..

The night was coming up so fast as the light of the day eventually vanished and only to be replaced by darkness that soon covered the entire world, making way for the nocturnal beings to wander through the outside world.

Situated at the forest were two figures temporarily camping outside away from the road in order to avoid any attention coming from the people. Since the night has fallen, they both needed a place to settle the night while also exchanging their explanations from each other.

A small fire was lit up on the middle of the camp as Natsu helped out for the materials while also cutting down some several woods for them to sit and probably rest for the entire night.

Natsu sat on the other log as he stared oddly at the fire and not before long he gazed towards Sayla who was his former enemy and his once former guildmate on his forgotten guild which had been destroyed by his friends several days ago.

There was an awkward silence before them as Natsu find it hard to converse with an enemy who was trying to kill his friends at first but then submitted her own will to him just because he was her guild master.

It was a pretty unusual situation for him and that this woman was supposed to be one of the demons from the books of Zeref and one of the most powerful as she was one with the infamous Nine Demon Gates.

Right now, she might be the only surviving member of his other former guild and that both of them were once on the same said guild.

Another wave of silence went through the two of them until Natsu finally couldn't take it anymore and decided to talk.

"Why are you here?" He asked.

"I'm here to serve for my master."

"How did you find me here?"

"I noticed your presence from a mile away... It was then I knew that Master END has finally revived."

"Awakened to be exact." He corrected with a nonchalant reply which somehow surprised the purple-haired demon girl.

"Eh?"

There was moment of silence between them as Natsu began to ponder once again about the events that transpired during his encounter with the Black Mage.

Sure, he wouldn't mind telling some since this girl is probably harmless right now, seeing that she sustained too many damages already ever since her fight with Fairy Tail.

"... He was there. Zeref was there all along."

"Zeref?!" She exclaimed in surprise.

"Yeah... It happened right after the battle with your leader..."

"You mean, Mard Geer? He was just a temporary leader for us... The real master is you END-sama." She corrected.

"Are we gonna talk about Zeref or me?" He spoke with irritation on his voice. Sayla didn't reply but simply went silent, confirming her decision to listen to his part of the story.

"... Like I said, Zeref was there all this time... He's been watching me and everyone else, including you all back in Tartaros. He revealed everything to me just after my father died. That I'm the END you're all talking about."

"Lord Zeref wishes us to fulfill our roles... That one day we will all return to him as he had created us in the first place." She added.

"Well, I'm not going..." He suddenly replied with a sarcastic remark.

"Why?"

"Because I'm Natsu Dragneel not E.N.D. And if you ever think about reforming your guild with me, I'm sorry to say, I'm not doing it anymore. I'm not letting the same pain inflict on to my friends. Even if I need to fight this own power myself." He stood up from his seat as he looked at the female demon with a fierce gaze.

"But you're no longer a member of that guild... You're Master E.N.D. The one who formed Tartaros. Our safe haven for the books of Zeref. With your power, we can restore our guild back into its former glory." She spoke in a monotone despite Natsu's denial.

"Tartaros is destroyed..."

"But Master is still alive." She replied.

"What are you trying to achieve here?!" He demanded, seeing that her alarming presence gives him an uncomfortable feeling.

"I'm here to serve under my master... Until the time we can reunite with Lord Zeref-"

"I'm nobody's master and I'll never do anything to cause harm on anyone here." He cut her off. His patience with her is almost at its limit. "E.N.D. is never going to awaken and he'll never will..."

He simply turned around to walk away from the campfire but not before long he spoke to her once again.

"There's a pair of clothes in the bag... I'm leaving here at dawn and I'm not expecting you to follow me just because I'm your master. We maybe demons but I'll never become anyone like you."

And with that he turned around and disappeared from the forest in order to clear his head.

All this talk about demons and stuff are making his head worse than it was before.

* * *

 _ **The next day...**_

Natsu eventually returned back to the camp after sleeping unto a nearby tree trunk somewhere as he had trouble sleeping next to a demon girl.

Speaking of who, there was no sight of Sayla around the camp as he only saw a burnt-out camp fire at the center together with the things he got from the thugs yesterday.

Looking at the baggage itself, Natsu saw a lack of clothes in it and could only assume that Sayla took them and went on to their separate ways. He was somehow glad that it came to be that way but he couldn't shake the fact that she might be scheming somewhere in order to restore Tartaros on her own.

Well, if it comes to that, he'll just have to confront her and probably destroy her once and for all. He didn't want any of the demons to wreck havoc in Fiore without him knowing it.

He approached the bag and placed all the things together in order to prepare his journey once more. Sooner of later, someone might spot him here and it's best to keep himself hidden from the eyes of any people in the area in order to avoid panic.

He still had his problems, concerning about his power and also his association with Fairy Tail. It will be very bad for him if his friends began an all-out search mission for him.

Shaking those thoughts aside, the pinkette continued his own doing and prepared all the things for his next journey. He burned the two logs around the camp fire and turned his attention back at the road.

There was no sign of her or any of the people passing by in both sides.

"Are we leaving already?" It was then the same familiar voice came from behind him which caused him to jump out in surprise as he looked behind and saw Sayla in the same matching outfit as his, except for the leopard kimono outfit that she kept.

"Why are you still here?! Didn't I tell you to stay away from me?!" He replied with an accusing finger towards her.

"I serve on my master's will... Wherever he goes, I'll follow." She declared.

"That's not the case! I'm not telling you this a second time..." Before he could even finish his statement, Sayla shook her head for a moment before muttering something that caught his attention.

"If that's what master wished to do then I'll have no problems with it."

"W-What?" He stuttered.

"Even if master doesn't want to bring back Tartaros, I'll still follow you to the very end." She replied with a serious look on her face.

"Why are you insisting in following me?" He groaned.

"Because you're E.N.D. Our Master."

Natsu sighed in defeat. There's nothing for him to gain anything from shoving her away from him. And from the looks of it, she has her unswerving loyalty to him as she sees him as her master. Then again, it's making him really uncomfortable at times.

Well at least, one of his worries are gone. He'll have no trouble in locating her if she ever does something evil again. He might not even have to destroy her after all as long as she stays away from the humans.

"FINE! I'll let you come along with me..." He surrendered.

Although it was brief but he was sure to have noticed her smiling delight from his reply earlier. He didn't even know that demons are capable of smiling or even capable of doing that kind of thing like humans do.

Sayla only bowed in respect as she expressed her own gratitude towards her master for letting her come along in his journey. There was nothing greater than that.

"I'm honored to serve under you, Master."

"Yeah, yeah... Let's go..." Natsu brushed off the honorifics and paced a few steps ahead of her in which she immediately followed as they trudged down on the lonely road together side by side.

Both of them were silent for a moment until Natsu spoke once again.

"I do have a name, you know..."

"Hmm?" She titled her head in confusion.

"Call me, Natsu... I don't like the idea of anyone calling me, master."

"O-Oh... Then, Natsu-sama... I'm very honored to be walking beside you." She bowed with formality.

And in just like that, the two demons began their unlikely journey together into Fiore.

* * *

 **A/N: And here's the first chapter... Hope ya like it.**

 **I kinda like the idea of Sayla wanting to be at her master's side, seeing that she wanted to serve him loyally. The first chapters of this story might just feature the time of them together and their struggle towards the human world and Natsu's dilemma on his acceptance to his END powers. Initially he would want to deny it but I'm not doing entirely of that.**

 **I'll try to slowly make him accept of who he is and try to use his own power for the good of the others. Think about it as the vigilante from the shadows. Like a Zoro-like theme character build-up for him. It also goes to Sayla as well as she will try to adapt her own nature towards to humans from the help of Natsu of course, it will be like changing her old ways and simply being convinced by Natsu to learn and love the humans just like he did to Igneel.**

 **Well, enough of that explanation. There's a lot of to see in the next chapter so let's look forward it to that.**

 **Thanks for the early supports and I really appreciate all of your response to my new story despite its early stages. See you all on the second chapter!**

 **\- wiErD SpeCtrumz blacking out... ... ...**


	3. Demon Problem

**A/N : Hello my fellow readers, wiErD here and I got another chapter for you guys in this new story.**

 **Hope ya like it!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own FT nor any of its elements. Hiro Mashima owns them all by rights. Support the official release.**

* * *

 **\- Demon Problem -**

It's been three days ever since Sayla had tagged along with Natsu. So far, the journey isn't as bad as he viewed it to be since she doesn't talk that much about killing and stuff. He expected her to spout her distaste towards humans and sorts since she used to hate them during their fight against each other. However, that is not the case as he saw her seemingly obedient to him which somewhat gave him an edgy feeling.

Well, the reason why she wouldn't do anything bad was because she was her master and since he doesn't want to harm other people, she undoubtedly complied as well.

He had to wonder though, if she was ever given the freedom to do anything, would she stay the same? Or would she follow her own chaotic carnage towards the humans once again and return back to Zeref.

That one thought worried him for quite some time now.

If he hadn't been E.N.D. then she might still continue her fight against his friends right now.

Sliding his thoughts about his companion aside, another wave of pain went up to his head as if it was tearing him apart from both sides. This has been happening to him for quite some time now ever since his time with Zeref back at Magnolia.

He doesn't know if it has something to do with his power. Maybe curses and magics aren't that compatible with each other, seeing that curses came from the negative emotions from humans and that it was different from magic some cases and origins.

It was just an assumption though... He didn't care where it was coming from but as long as he can resist it at times then he wold be okay with that.

Plus, there's still a matter concerning about his desertion.

If Fairy Tail noticed his sudden disappearance, there's no doubt that his friends will try to come get him back no matter what.

"Master... There's a small town nearby." Cutting his train of thought, Sayla spoke in earnest as she noticed a small town just a few kilometers away from them.

The pinkette was somehow amused at her keen sight, seeing that he can't look at that far away as her. Well, he still have his other senses to beat her out of it. Not to mention, he's more powerful than her-

..

..

 _-what the hell am I thinking?!'_ He screamed inside his head.

This is no time to be looking at the power stats of other people!

On the other hand, Sayla noticed his troubled face as she slowly turned her attention away from her direction and turned towards him.

"Is something wrong, Master?"

"N-Nothing..."

"Is that so? If you need anything, you can always use me anytime to fulfill your desires." She reminded. Natsu could only groan inwardly.

"I already told you this many times... I don't need anything and please stop treating yourself like a tool..." He scolded.

"I exist to serve Master... I also exist to return back to our Lord Zeref to fulfill his wish."

Natsu sighed at her response. Nothing will ever get inside this weird demon girl's head, no matter how many times he reminded her about things. Seriously, these demons sure are very straightforward and narrow-minded. They care nothing but fulfilling the wishes of their masters and creators in return for their disregard of their own well-being.

This girl is no exception, seeing that she doesn't value her own life one bit.

Even though she was created, he still views it to be a life. A living existence. He doesn't care whether they're demon or not. He just hated anyone nonchalantly disregarding the value of their lives like that so easily.

"For the last time, don't call me Master! I have a name!" He screamed in irritation.

"Saying your name like that casually feels like a disrespectful manner..." She reasoned.

"Where the hell did you learn that?"

"From the humans... Their literature sure packs a lot of interesting information and stories."

 _'Oh great, another book lover.'_ He thought.

"I don't want to hear it..." He quickly ended the topic as he continued his focus in front of him and eventually walked again. Silence took over the atmosphere as the two trudged along the side of the road without exchanging words to each other after that.

..

..

..

A few minutes later, they finally arrived at the small town itself. It wasn't that big or anything grand like Magnolia since the buildings are mostly shacks and old houses of the people living there. Only a few stores are seen in the area and it was somehow governed by a small guild that Natsu didn't know of. The flow of people around this town simply consisted of simple people as they generally wore farmer clothes and doesn't get too much involved about the issues of the outside world.

Even so, this was a fortunate place for them to seek shelter for the time being. They can lay low at the moment as long as they don't make any scenes and scare the people here.

"This is entirely different from the town where your guild was... It's so dull." Sayla commented at the features of the town.

"Well, not all towns are grand here... Plus, I think this will be a better place for us to stay hidden for the time being." Natsu suggested while pondering in thought for a moment.

"Why do we need to hide from the humans? We can just use our powers and drive them out of town."

"Didn't I tell you that we're not involving any humans here? And stop suggesting anything bad, alright?" Natsu reprimanded. Sayla could only release a sigh in response.

"I don't get why you don't want to harm the humans... Wouldn't it be better if you could just take them all out and proceed with your plan... That would make things easier, right?" She huffed.

"Because I don't want anyone to get hurt... I don't want to inflict any suffering to anyone because of me." He spoke blankly which was somehow unusual since he went serious for a moment before thinking deeply back about his time back at Fairy Tail.

Things like these came from that guild itself... He learned friendship and family altogether in that tiny place. Even in the face of sadness, he was taught with comfort and warmth of his loved ones and that made him strong right until now.

He knew that Sayla never went through the same experience as him and he didn't want to sound very judgmental towards her since she was just the same as him but raised in different circumstances. If she were to be raised in the same position as him then she would've been a different person.

And it is his job to let her experience that feeling. The feeling of friendship and care towards family. He wanted her to experience all the wonderful things he had back when he was still little.

..

..

"If that's what Master wants then I'll follow as well." She slightly frowned but Natsu felt a sign of relief washing up all over him at her reluctant reply.

"Thank you..."

"Then what are we supposed to do now? You don't want these humans to know our true nature, right? How are we able to find shelter without them knowing about us?" She asked the pinkette in curiosity.

"We'll take a job..."

"Huh?"

"Firstly, we need to take a job from this town's guild in order to make some jewels."

* * *

The course of the day continued as the two eventually went on their way towards an abandoned settlement just a couple of kilometers away from the town they just visited. Apparently, they heard rumors about a demon rampaging on the said settlement, attacking travelers who unluckily got close in the area. Somehow they managed to get a poster of the monster with a bounty on it.

So far, it's been one of the most dangerous posters in the town and the price was worth 500,000 jewels. That alone could fit an A-Class quest, judging from its price and risk level.

And since it was a extermination quest, there's nothing to discuss about it other than taking it out in order guarantee safety in that place once again. Well, that's what they thought for now since they didn't discussed it that much.

Natsu was already preparing himself for combat as he gave a stretch on his body to get it ready for battle. It's been a long time since he took a job about exterminating monsters and sorts.

Sayla was calm as usual. Not entirely revved up to the whole quest as she simply gave a uninterested expression towards the situation.

"Aren't you gonna prepare yourself?" Natsu asked.

"I don't need such adjustments... My curse is still at its peak and the enemy we're facing doesn't seemed to be much a threat to us..." She replied with confidence.

"Then I guess you're strong..."

"I'm one of the Nine Demon Gates of Tartaros... I can end any battle if I wanted to."

Natsu scoffed at her claims.

"Yeah right... I didn't think you could end any battle during your fight with my friends, huh?" He replied with sarcasm. Of course, that response simply got the demon girl to lose her confidence since she was humiliated in that fight with Mirajane who somehow able to defeat her with nothing but her Take-Over magic which was suppose to be inferior to her Macro.

"I-I was off guard! If I was a bit alert back then, I would've won over my enemies." She protested.

"Riiiiggghhhht." He drawled lazily. "Well, I'm not gonna lie, you demons sure hella strong that I had to get help from one of teammates."

"Does Natsu-sama prefer to fight alone?" She asked.

"Yes..."

"Then is it bothersome for me to fight alongside with you?"

"No..."

"Humans are so hard to understand... Their useless feelings often clouded their judgement and that makes them to do the wrong decisions... What makes them so important to you anyway?" She huffed yet again.

"It's not a bad thing to have those feelings, you know." It was then Natsu spoke in serious tone as Sayla looked at him in confounded surprise which soon turned into confusion.

"What do you mean by that?"

"It's natural for any living being to harbor those emotions that build up onto their hearts. It's what makes them so different from the others. They have the ability to love, to care and to protect those people they treasured... It forms an invisible bond between them that cannot be severed easily..." He paused before looking back at the demon girl.

"...Let me ask you this, even before back when we still haven't fought against each other, did you have this connection with your other demon guildmates?"

That question somehow made her to ponder for a moment as she tried looking back through her time with her former guildmates. And judging from her relationship with them, she doesn't have one. It was more like an acquaintance between demons and they all didn't care too much about each other as they all solely wanted to fulfill Lord Zeref's wish and kill him.

The only connection she probably had was from Kyoka but it was never the type of bond that Natsu was trying to tell her about. It was more like a follower-like type of relationship, seeing that she admired her ruthless nature towards the humans at that time.

..

..

Seeing the lack of answer coming from her, Natsu released another sigh and decided to move on.

"We're almost there... We should get ready soon." He spoke as he can finally see the settlement in the distance as he gave his knuckles a few sounds.

Sayla somehow got out from her trance there for a moment and simply set aside her thoughts about his question for later and decided to prepare her own curse from their upcoming battle.

The two of them eventually reached into the abandoned settlement and could only find the area to be full of skeletal remains from the unfortunate humans that happened to be the victims a long time ago. Seeing this gruesome sight simply made the pinkette uncomfortable for some reason. In all his life he'd never come across a field of remains since the smell of death always disgusted him.

Sayla was not bothered from the sight but she still kept her guard just in case. After all, their enemy was a demon, same as them.

"These unfortunate humans sure took a very gruesome death." Sayla spoke.

"I don't want to talk about it... Let's just find the demon and head back to town." He suggested as Sayla only nodded in response before venturing further towards the settlement.

It took them a few minutes to walk further as they began to see more frequent dead remains of people in the vicinity, accompanied by animal remains as well. Whatever this demon was, it probably likes to eat meat and was probably merciless as well to its victims.

Another surge of pain went through Natsu's head yet again as he lost his strength to walk any further and decided to ease his hurting head with his hands. Sayla noticed his pain and immediately went over to him to see if he was alright.

"Are you alright, Master?"

"Damn, not this again..." He gritted his teeth in frustration, noticing that his power is acting up again.

"I think we should settle down somewhere in the time-being... You're not in the condition to fight, Master." She proposed.

"It's alright... I can still move... L-Let's just find the demon and get the hell outta here." He slowly struggled to recompose himself in which he failed to do so until the demon girl caught him in her arms and helped him to get back on his feet.

He thanked her in response as they continued on.

..

..

After a few more minutes, they walked into a dead end as the path was seemingly blocked by rocks and debris all the way to the other side. It seemed like they reached the end of the place itself but there's no sign of such a demon.

"Something's not right..." Sayla spoke in a serious tone as she could somehow detect a wrong presence in the area in which Natsu also noticed as they instantly prepared for their battle stances.

Few moments later, a lone figure soon crept out of one of the rocks from the debris as if he was revealing himself to him. He seemed to be wearing some type of robe, similar that to a cultist who worships Zeref with a mix of obsession towards the Black Mage's works.

"Well, well... Instead of encountering humans, I never thought I would be seeing demons coming right through here. Are you one of the books of Zeref?" The figure spoke in curiosity in which the two could only widen their eyes in surprise as he was able to distinguish their nature apart from the humans.

"Who are you?!" Natsu demanded. The figure only took a mindful observation towards the two until he finally noticed something different from the two.

"N-No way... ... You two aren't just normal demons... I sense a strong presence of Etherious in you two... That would mean-"

"That's right... We're one of the books of Zeref. The ones who reside in the bookshelf of Zeref himself, Tartaros." Sayla declared.

"Hey! Don't just lump me in together with that guild!" Natsu scolded.

But as they bicker at one another, the man only stifle a chuckle in the conversation as he finally put all the things in place.

"Oh, I see now... ... I've never actually thought I would meet a fellow demon who's also been created by Lord Zeref." He revealed. Natsu and Sayla were surprised yet again at his revelation as they began to realize of what he meant by that.

"Then you're-"

"My name's Bahamut... The God-Eater. It's a been a long time since I met a fellow demon from the books of Zeref." He introduced himself as he took out his robes and revealed a tall man with white hair that reaches down on his shoulders. The hairstyle was similar that of Rouge, though protruding on the opposite side and revealed his dark eyes towards the other two. His clothes consisted that of a dark vest accompanied by a same-colored shirt on his upper body. His lower part consisted that of a loose pants without any footwear as he simply walked on barefoot.

A wicked grin is plastered all over his face as he looked back at the two with anticipation.

However, Natsu wasn't in the mood for any greetings or pleasantries.

"Are you the one responsible for all those people back then?" He asked with a unusual dark tone on his voice.

"Hoh, and what if I did?"

"Then, I guess there's nothing more to say to each other... I'm killing you here right now." Natsu called out his dark red flames in his hands as it coated him wholly as if readying for battle. It wasn't the same kind of sensation he always felt during his previous fights but there's just one thing that is different from today's fight.

He felt stronger.

Ignoring the searing pain all over his head, Natsu charged in towards the man in full speed in which somehow surprises since he felt so much faster than he was from before.

Disappearing into a red blur, Natsu launched his first punch towards Bahamut in which he easily blocked as it created a huge shockwave that soon went in their vicinity, noting the intensity of their attacks.

"Flame? Interesting... I don't know what kind of demon are you but I guess you're pretty strong then... After all, we're all created to be strong enough to kill our creator."

"I don't give a crap about Zeref... ... I'll defeat you here, demon..." Natsu declared as he coated his hands ablaze and formed a giant red fireball above him.

 **"Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!"** Shouting briefly his spell, Natsu threw the fireball towards him in which he easily dodged sideways and regained his composure before smirking at the pinkette.

But before he could even try to move again, his body have started to move on its own as if something was controlling his body aside from his own. It was then he noticed Sayla simply standing away from the fight with a calm look on her face in which he knew that it was coming from her.

"Your body is now under my absolute control." She muttered as she flicked her finger in which caused his body to lean forward towards the pinkette who in turn had prepared his next attack on him as Natsu coated himself in dark crimson flames before launching himself towards him.

 **"Fire Dragon's Sword Horn!"** His head enveloped in flames connected right into Bahamut's gut as eventually sent him away crashing unto a pile of debris as Natsu regained his position away from him with Sayla backing him up from behind.

Looking back at the demon girl, it was Natsu's first time seeing her Curse and judging from how well she performed it, she had the control over his opponent's bodies and command them on her discretion. No wonder why she was so confident in ending the fight back then.

Truth be told, it was a pretty nasty curse and Natsu wouldn't know if he can handle her with that power of hers.

His train of thought was eventually cut off as a large surge of pain went inside his head yet again, causing him to lose focus but was able to keep his composure in the middle of the battle as the dust cleared to where Bahamut crashed and revealed his unscratched figure.

"I gotta tell you... That thing kinda hurts. And that curse you have there is pretty problematic for me." Bahamut spoke nonchalantly while giving a few cracks on his neck and his knuckles. "But you know, this is surely strange... I've never encountered a demon trying to hunt down other demons before. I suppose you two had given up on your original purpose?"

"My purpose here is to defeat you in order to save people." Natsu spoke.

"That's also a new one right there... A demon caring for the humans? That's pretty illogical. I thought that we could be better acquaintances but I guess I'm wrong... You must be probably a defective book that is thrown away by Zeref. No wonder why you have such a caring heart for those weaklings."

"You shut your damn mouth!" Natsu gritted in anger. His emotions slowly feeding off his power as time flows.

"Hmph... Like I would listen to some defective demon... You're a disgrace on our kind-" Before he could even continue further, a large beam was shot out towards him and instantly blew him away and crashed yet again as Natsu widen his eyes in surprise to see that Sayla had taken a surprise attack towards Bahamut in instantaneous speeds the even he couldn't follow for a moment as she stood right beside him with her right hand stretching in front of her, seemingly pointed to where the white-haired demon was.

"I won't let you say anymore bad things towards my master, scum." She muttered darkly as Natsu could feel her growing anger towards Bahamut.

..

..

On the other hand, Bahamut staggered away from the crash and was simply taken aback at the surprise attack to him as he was left off guard and stared oddly at the demon female in disbelief.

"Damn you, bitch-

"Bahamut... Otherwise known as the God-Eater. You're a book created by Zeref himself as part of the collection of the demons needed to have the potential to grant his eternal wish. Your creation was successful and was to be regarded to be part of the Demon Gates as you possess a powerful curse that could bring calamity and chaos towards mankind but-

-your powers were deemed inferior and your curse was proved insufficient enough to rival the other demons, thus you were thrown away as part of his own failed experiments in the books of Zeref. Pretty ironic, isn't it? That you called master a defective. You don't even know your position in him." Sayla explained.

"You- How in the world did you know that?!" Bahamut demanded.

"Perhaps I didn't introduce myself yet to you... I'm Sayla. One of the demon books that resides in Tartaros. The Nine Demon Gates. I studied a lot of history about Lord Zeref's past experiments in creating demons. And you are just one of the other demons he casts aside as a failure in his creation. To him, you're inferior and we're the successful ones that would one day be able to grant his wish..." She paused.

"... And since you were thrown away. I assume that you eventually wind up here. Look how pathetic you've become. Compared to Master, you're nothing to him."

Despite her sharp insults towards Bahamut, Natsu still didn't get used in her new other personality. She maybe gentle and loyal at times but when matters take a little too far, she was like a killing machine and will not hesitate to crush the spirits of her enemies without a second thought.

Well, in the midst of it, he did learn something historical from what she said earlier. It seems like there are other demons that exist as failed experiments in Zeref's creation towards the strongest Etherious. It only made him think if there are more of them roaming around Fiore on their free will and had been terrorizing people for a long time.

On the other hand, Bahamut's expression was simply shadowed as the atmosphere between them began silent.

Moment later... He slowly lifted his face towards the two.

"Nothing? I'll show you who's nothing!" In an instant, Natsu and Sayla went up on their guard as they saw the sudden change of the power coming from Bahamut as his body had started to morph that of a giant humanoid monster as horns in his head finally appeared, showing off his demonic nature. His fangs went sharper as his body began to form up intricate markings with one prominent feature located at his stomach which consisted of a circle with writings seen around it.

Spikes formed around his back as his figure turned slightly dark. A pair of red glowing eyes was seen afterwards as it glared over to the two figures at the distance before releasing a menacing growl from it mouth.

"What the hell is that?" Natsu asked in disbelief.

"It's his Etherious Form." She noted until she instantly grabbed Natsu's hand and leaped away as Bahamut thrusts his giant claws down towards them, sending out powerful tremors that shook the entire ground due to its power. The two demons managed to get a safe distance away before examining their enemy for a moment as they watched it approaching towards them in a seemingly fast rate.

Sayla gritted her teeth in frustration, seeing that it would take them a lot of time to bring down this incomplete demon. Judging from his new body transformation, it seems like all of his attributes increased which kinda makes him a moving fortress.

She cannot use her Macro on her anymore, seeing that his curse is easily resisting her absolute control. After all, there's a limit to where she control anything with absolute control and this one is probably too big to control.

At this rate, they're gonna get slaughtered.

Feeling the need to use her Etherious form for the first time in days, Sayla tried to break off her limiters and end the battle as soon as she can but there's something wrong. For some reason, she can't enter into her Etherious form no matter how many times she tried to. And not only that, she can't seemed to use her Macro as well, seeing that it doesn't work on anyone even inanimate objects.

"W-What's happening? I can't use my powers?"

Seeing her confused, Bahamut smirked evilly as he turned to explain the reason.

"Haha...! This is the nature of my Etherious Form... The World Eater... Right now, you're all in my domain and I can cancel out any type of curses thrown by my enemies."

"Curses? Not magic?!" Sayla stuttered in response.

"Why do you think Zeref see me as an inferior demon? The reason was behind my powers. He tried to create a demon that can defeat his other previous creation by infusing me the power to cancel out curses. Of course, there are many other types of magic that can counter demons as well but mine was created for the sole purpose of eradicating the demons themselves. Lord Zeref knew of this and decided to deem me as a failure but-

-he was mistaken... I've developed this power on my own ever since he threw me away... I swore to myself... I SWORE THAT I'LL EXACT MY REVENGE ON HIM AND I'LL BE THE ONE WHO WILL FULFILL HIS WISH OF FINALLY DYING FOR ETERNITY!"

He screamed as if he was a madman as he laughed hysterically towards them with the same murderous intent focused on the two.

"In order to do that, I'll dispose the other demons first... ... That's includes the two of you-

Without warning, a flaming fist connected right through his cheek and sent the monster flying away from the distance in which he easily recovers before widening in surprise to see the pinkette able to use his power despite his Etherious Form being released.

"I-Impossible... How are you still able to use your curse?!"

Natsu didn't speak for a moment as he dusted off his clothes and simply urged the demon girl to stay back as he coated his whole body in dark red flames.

"Well, it's true that your powers can negate out any curses but let me tell you something... ..." He paused as the flames grew darker and hotter as Sayla could feel the intensity of the flames being poured out in the process. The heat was surprisingly hot enough to burn anything in his vicinity as scales initially began to form from the pinkette's face and also to his arms as well.

Although it was kind of brief but Sayla was able to take a small glimpse of a giant red beast seemingly morphing behind Natsu as if the flames were alive.

With his power leaking out in the process, Natsu shot off the most intimidating look he'd ever casted upon his opponent.

"Before I became a demon... ... I was a dragonslayer!"

* * *

 **A/N: And that's the wrap for this chapter. Hope ya like it. I kinda thought of an idea of a defective book in the books of Zeref. I mean, come on... There's a high chance for Zeref to have failed creations of his demons before he could even create the book of E.N.D. together with the books of Tartaros. Plus, I think this will be a good idea to finally get Sayla and Natsu's character development with each other as such for the former to accept the humans while the latter coming into terms with his power as well.**

 **The early chapters will only develop the two's relationship and their lives as demons in the human world and the next would be through the Avatar Arc and possibly some conflicts between Fairy Tail and Natsu as well.**

 **Well, look all forward to it as I post more chapter in this story. If I have the time that is. See you on the next chapter!**

 **\- wiErD SpeCtrumz blacking out... ... ...**


	4. Live On

**A/N: Sup everyone. wiErD here and I'm back with another chapter.**

 **Hope ya like it!**

 **Here's some short power stats for the defective demon, Bahamut:**

 **An Etherious created by Zeref himself as part of his plan to fulfill his death wish. Granted the ability to cancel out curses, making him an anti-demon. He also had his own Etherious Form that lets him morph into that giant humanoid monster, capable of destroying towns alone. During that form, his abilities grows spontaneously in which his strength and power is capable of inflicting serious injury towards a mage. He also had the ability called World Eater in which he sets up an invisible dome in his vicinity where he can temporarily render all demon curses useless inside. The range of this ability is unknown as it had been developed recently just after Zeref had thrown him away as a failed experiment. Other unknown powers are yet to be revealed.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own FT or any of its characters. Hiro Mashima owns them. Support the official release.**

* * *

 **\- Live On -**

The entire area around the two was simply met with fire and shockwave as two demons clashed with each other with a never ending fist to fist fights against each other as Natsu continuously delivers his own set of flame attacks that were somehow deemed not destructive enough knock off the giant demon. Despite in his dragon force, Natsu had gained power and speed over his opponent but his hard spikes from his back and the gigantic structure of his body made it hard for him to inflict any serious damage onto him.

It was more like scratching the surface as his attacks were easily deflected with ease.

His flames were hot enough to melt everything around him but it was not enough for Bahamut himself as he smirked evilly at the frustrated dragonslayer.

Kicking him up straight to the chest that sent the pinkette away in a distance, Bahamut gave a taunting smirk towards him, seeing that his powers were not that dangerous to him.

"What's wrong? Is that what a dragonslayer could do?" He mocked as Natsu wiped a streak of blood coming out from his mouth before slowly recomposing himself to fight.

"S-Shut up... I'll defeat you even if it takes all of my power." He declared as he brought up his dark red flames again towards his whole body.

"But this is strange, you know... A demon harnessing magic. You're pretty quite the oddity of all demons. Are you perhaps hiding something that you don't want to use against me? Well then again, you're in my domain... You can't use your curse on me." He said with pride.

"Mind your fucking business... I will use my own power to defeat you."

"Let's see if that puny dragonslaying magic of yours is capable against my curse."

The two continued their battle once again as Natsu inhaled deeply in his lungs as fire sipped into his mouth, slightly enlarging his stomach before releasing it towards the demon.

 **"Fire Dragon's Roar!"** A huge torrent of red dark flames shot out towards Bahamut in fast speeds as the flames destroyed everything in its path before it nears to him.

Bahamut didn't even bother to move an inch as he took the flames head on, thus engulfing him completely until a huge fiery explosion followed soon afterwards. Smoke and debris full into the air as the roar was enough to level a large area with ease.

After a few moments, Bahamut finally emerged from the smoke, completely unharmed as his body never received burns from it. He smirked deviously as he gazed over to the shocked pinkette.

"Is that all?"

"Kugh- I'm not done yet!" Kicking his feet forward to the ground, Natsu lunged towards him with a pair of flame-coated fists and tried to continue his attacks on him but each and everyone of the those attack aren't giving the giant demon a hard time dealing it.

 **"Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"**

 **"Fire Dragon's Wing Attack!"**

 **"Fire Dragon's Claw Attack!"**

"It's useless... You can't do anything against me with that weak magic of yours." Bahamut mocked but it was then Natsu tried reaching on his feet as he used his flames on it to propel them faster and slammed right onto his feet, causing him to land right to the ground until Natsu came jumping high above him before initiating one of his secret killer moves.

"Don't underestimate me!"

 **"Dragon Slayer Secret Art: Crimson Lotus, Exploding Flame Blade!"**

Spinning his arms in a circular fashion, Natsu let out a burst of fire energy towards Bahamut in point-blank range and immediately engulfed him in dark crimson flames as miniature fire explosions occurred before resulting a massive blast that shook the entire area with powerful tremors. Dust kicked up in the vicinity where Natsu targeted his spell, obscuring the demon as he leaped a distance away from the scene as he waited for the dust to settle.

Moments later, Bahamut emerged from the smoke with light scratches on his body as he took a damage from it. It surprised him that such a spell would eventually hurt him in the process. However, it was not enough to destroy him completely.

"That kinda hurt... I'm impressed that you're able to injure me... It puts a shame that even I in my Etherious form is not entirely invulnerable against demons and mages." He mused.

"Heh, I'm just getting started."

Before he could even continue, Natsu felt his head aching once again. Of all the times it had to happen right now. Despite knowing that his curse is being cancelled, the throbbing pain inside his head is still ongoing. He would've thought that it wouldn't happen to him since his enemy is negating the effects of the curse but it seems like it's not that case.

Whatever it is, it's not helping him in winning this thing.

"Where are you looking at? You have to do better than that!" In a flash, Bahamut appeared right beside him despite his size and managed to nail his clawed fist towards the pinkette, sending him far away and crash into the debris, shocking Sayla in the process.

"Master!" She shouted out in worry as she tried to run after him.

Moments later, Natsu emerged from the smoke with scratches on his face. His clothes slightly torn from the hit but he was still okay but the punch left a bitter taste on his mouth as he wiped a streak of blood on his mouth and glared right at the giant demon.

"Hoh, you're still standing, huh? I'm impressed." Bahamut remarked.

"It'll take more than that to put me down, bastard."

"Well, I guess I'll have to keep doing just that in order to kill you..."

And in that moment, Bahamut unleashed a surge amount of power around him as the two demons were able to notice its scale, causing them to widen their eyes in surprise. Unlike him, Natsu had a limited amount of power in himself and he doesn't seem to have anything that could refuel his power in their surroundings.

With Sayla powerless to use any curses or even her Etherious Form, he was left to fight him and defend her as much as possible when the fight starts to go out of control. And by the looks of it, his enemy is getting more stronger than he was before.

"Master... Are you alright?" Sayla arched one of his hands right on her shoulder in order to help him stand. Even with her powers cancelled, she still has her physical strength but it's not quite enough to stand up against Bahamut.

"Yeah... " He winced on his injuries but decided to ignore in order to keep himself focused in the fight.

Leaping a few meters away from the giant demon, Natsu and Sayla tried to think up a way in order to destroy Bahamut.

"He's getting stronger..." She narrowed her eyes.

"I know... Is there a way for us to beat him at this point?" He asked.

"Judging from the true nature of his powers, I think we stand no chance in defeating him unless we do something his power that cancels our curses. I can't enter into my strongest form and you can only use your magic against him." She explained.

"Then that means we should just keep on pounding him until he can't take it anymore, is that it?" He quirked a brow towards the demon girl.

"Unless there's an alternative then yes." She sighed for a moment. "Actually, there is another way."

"What is?"

"I think if we could somehow unleash your power, then I suppose we can stand a chance against him now." Hearing about the mention of his power, Natsu slightly frown all of a sudden.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Your curse powers are still sealed inside you... but it gives off a presence due to its overwhelming power. However, you have been denying it for quite some time so it never had the time to manifest completely inside you. Only a small fragment returned to your body completely." She revealed.

"Are you saying that I have to use this curse?" He clarified.

"Yes... Although you may not notice it but I think your powers are not that affected by Bahamut's World Eater. Unlike mine, yours was able to withstand the effects of his curse and that you may still have a chance to use it in order to finish him once and for all."

..

..

There was slight hesitation towards Natsu's voice as he felt conflicted to choose. He swore to himself that he would never use this power once. It's one thing that he wanted to avoid until at a time before he and Zeref would meet again.

After all, Zeref warned him back then that only one would be able to meet him in the future.

It's either him or E.N.D. that he speaks of as the strongest Etherious.

His fists were clenched tightly as he was faced with a hard decision until he finally decided.

"No... I won't use it... I will hold on to my own power and will to win this through... I'm not E.N.D. I'm not the one you expect me to be. I'm Natsu Dragneel of Fairy Tail and I would forever hold that name to the very end!" After his declaration, sparks of lightning went through his body, accompanied by his dark red flames as a large surge of magical power bursts inside the pinkette which caught Bahamut's attention and could only smirk in response.

"So, you've finally shown your true power... I guess it's time to get serious here... Let's see who's the strongest demon ever!"

"Shut up!"

With both sides finally releasing their strongest forms, Natsu and Bahamut charged at each once again as the former disappeared into a silver blur, causing the latter to widen his eyes in disbelief at the change of his sudden speed. He failed to follow through his speed and it was not long until he felt a huge kick to the face as Natsu appeared beside him and launched a high kick to his face that soon stumbled the giant monster a few feet away before regaining composure but saw nothing but air yet again.

"You bastard... Where are you?!"

Appearing right above him, Natsu prepared his next attack as his clasped both his hands together to form one giant fire ball with lightning circling around it.

 **"Lightning Flame Dragon's Brilliant Flame!"**

Without giving him time to react, Bahamut was simply engulfed in a massive fire dome as lightning struck altogether on his body, causing him some damage in the process as he felt a searing pain shooting up all over his body despite it being fully armored and strong.

"I-Impossible! How could you-

 **"Lightning Flame Dragon's Firing Hammer!"**

Natsu balled up his right fist in lightning flame as he proceed to thrust it towards Bahamut which soon generated a large explosion. Despite Bahamut's seemingly large body, the force of the blow sent him away and eventually crashed into one of the buildings again.

Yet again, he didn't stop there. Without waiting for his opponent to recover, Natsu went in on full throttle as he propelled himself right in the smokescreen as another clash of parried strikes and blows resounded through the battlefield.

Sayla could only watch in both awe and worry as she was left to witness a heavy battle between two demons. Their speeds were so fast that even she could barely track them with her very own eyes. Both sides never let the other get the upper hand as they both easily deflected their strikes against each other, leaving shockwaves in their wake.

Despite all of that, she could not help but worry about the well-being of her master. She still doesn't know if the cure inside him is making him feel better since it forces itself to merge within his body himself. She also worries that if he keeps on resisting his new powers, there's a tendency that he would endanger his life.

"Natsu-sama... ..."

..

..

Meanwhile, the tide of battle has suddenly shifted once again as Bahamut was being relentlessly pushed back by Natsu with ease as he can't seemed to compete against his new form and speed. With every hit he took from the pinkette, he felt like he was also hurting from the inside.

This is the first time he saw an opponent overpowering him despite in his Etherious form. Of all the people he fought and killed in the past, this is the first time that an opponent was able to overpower his curse with the use of magic.

"Now, that's definitely a surprise. How did you become so strong in that form?" He mused before he raising up his large clawed fists to block a powerful punch coming from the pinkette that soon generated a large gale of force around them, pushing everything back as Natsu tried to push off the ground.

"Haaaa!" Natsu struggled in his might as he poured more magic into his body as he easily sent the demon away yet again in his punch before inhaling large amounts of air as lightning and flame clumped together right inside his mouth, seemingly to prepare his lightning-enhanced version of his roar.

 **"Lightning Flame Dragon's Roar!"** After shouting forth his spell, Natsu sent out a large wave of lightning and fire from his mouth that soon caused a massive destruction as the roar went straight towards Bahamut in fast speeds that soon engulfed him completely.

The blast went over for a mile until it dissipated a few moments, leaving a large torn land area in front of the pinkette. Dust and smoke kicked up in their vicinity as Sayla shielded her eyes protectively before marveling at the power, Natsu had displayed.

This is the first time she'd ever saw him release his power. However, despite all his overwhelming power against Bahamut, she still couldn't lift her worries away as she began to notice the pinkette's body starting to weaken, probably due to his overuse of power for a long time.

..

..

Natsu panted from exhaustion as he felt himself losing power in a fast rate. Activating both his Dragon Force and his Lightning Flame Dragon Mode surely burns away all his reserve magic powers so quickly. He needed more training if he ever need to use both of those two forms at once.

Moments later, the smoke settled down and finally revealed a down Bahamut as multiple burns and scratches were found on its body, seemingly taken from his tremendous roar just now.

"It's over..." He said in a low tone before slowly turning around until a dreadful pressure stopped him in his tracks and caused him to glanced back to see Bahamut slowly getting back on his feet.

"That spell sure packs a punch... Thanks to you, I have to use my high-speed regeneration." He stated as his injuries instantly healed itself in a fast rate that soon return him into his original self, shocking both Natsu and Sayla in the process.

"High-speed regeneration?"

"Years of exile and banishment as a failure of Lord Zeref's experiments made me into who I am... He failed to realize my potential... that I'm his strongest creation!" He glared in anger. "Well, it does not matter anymore. Killing both of you here will serve as my first step in killing Zeref."

"You bastard..." Natsu growled in anger but a sudden wave of exhaustion swept into his body as his scales began to disappear and his lightning beginning to vanish, reverting back to his original form as he knelt slowly on his knees, seemingly running in low magic power.

"It seems like you've reached your limit, demon... It's time we end this." In an instant, Bahamut vanished from his position and appeared right in front of the pinkette and nailed a powerful punch right into his stomach, causing him to scream in pain and crash away into a pile of debris on the corner.

"Master!" Worried for his safety, Sayla sprinted right towards the crash.

In just a few seconds, Natsu emerged from the smoke with his hands, clutching his stomach as blood was seen in both his head and mouth due to the immense taken from that punch alone. Without enough magic power to back his physical body, Natsu barely withstood but his consciousness are starting to fade due to the immense pain he was having right now.

"You're still standing? I'm getting annoyed at your persistence." Bahamut glowered at his figure.

"I-I already t-told you... It'll take more than this to take me down..." He spat.

"Master... You can't fight anymore... Let's fall back for now..." Sayla suggested but not long before he interrupted them.

"Sorry but I'm not letting anyone get out alive... I'll make sure to kill you two slowly and painfully." He made a rather evil smirk on his face that only made her to grit her teeth in frustration.

Looking back at Natsu, she saw him roughly coughing up blood as his body was at its limit and she knew that if this continues, he'll never make it out alive.

"Stay back, Sayla... I-I'll finish this on my own." Natsu tried standing up though it's obvious that he had little strength to spare for the fight.

She bit her lip in frustration as she saw him slowly walking back to the battlefield alone with no magic power. Why is he so persistent to fight? Even though he was already suffering severe injuries? She doesn't understand but that undying will of his is just all the same to the ones she fought back at Fairy Tail. They all shared the same conviction to continue to fight no matter how hopeless the situation is.

Is this why they lost to Fairy Tail? Is this what really defeated Etherious beings like her?

She didn't know and she will never come to understand that nature on humans. She is a demon and her purpose and existence are only set to protect her master at all cost. There's nothing more than that.

..

..

As Natsu was about to get back and fight, a small hand reached into his shoulders and forcefully pulled him back away as Sayla went passed him to take his place.

"W-What are you doing, Sayla?!"

"As a demon, I can't just stand here and watch my master suffer. I serve to protect Master END. Even if I don't have my powers, I'll still fight for his sake. I'm a tool to be used for master's wishes."

"What do you think you're doing-

"I can never understand humans... nor the meaning of their tenacity and persistence... Perhaps I was not meant to learn anything from them. After all, I'm a demon and I don't deserve such good things that Master had experienced." She muttered. Her face shadowed in expression.

"What are you talking about? Of course you can-" Before he could even speak, he was left shocked as Sayla finally showed her sincere smile to him for the first time but-

..

..

-he knew that there's a mix of sadness in it as she walked away from him.

"If I were to fight to the very end like you did... Would that be enough to make you happy?"

..

..

..

"Farewell, Master. You must live on."

After parting those words, she dashed right straight into battle, facing Bahamut.

"So you've finally taken the role to fight but you know that this fight is pointless. Why do you even try to fight a battle that you cannot even win?" He asked.

"For the sake of my master's survival, I'll fight no matter what the cost." She declared.

"Then I'll just make it short with you... After that, your master is next."

"I will never let you touch my master!"

"Prove it when you defeated me!"

And with that, the two demons had begun to clash each other as Sayla used her physical strength to fight against Bahamut. Despite the lack of her curse power, she was able to stand up against a giant demon like him with ease.

Successfully connecting her fist right into his face, Sayla sent a bone-cracking punch that generated a small gale in the process. However, Bahamut only smirked evilly as his regeneration abilities was able to heal his cheek instantly, making her attack useless.

"Hmph, it doesn't even hurt." He tried to backhand her away with his right clawed hand but she leaped away just in time before both of them took a brief observation towards each other.

"You should know already by now... With my World-Eater and regeneration, you don't stand a chance against me..." He reminded.

"And what of it?"

"Huh?"

"I don't care whatever tricks you put into this fight... I will continue to fight to the very end."

"You're really annoying too... You're just as the same as your master... You never know when to get down!"

In an instant, he disappeared into a silver blur, causing her to raise her fists in defense as her eyes tried to track his speed. However, his speed was too fast for her eyes to follow as he appeared right behind her and instantly sent her away with a roundhouse kick, sending out gales of wind as she crashed a distance away.

"Sayla!"

A few seconds later, the demon girl staggered away from the crash with multiple injuries after that tremendous kick just now. Her left arm seemed to be broken as she placed her right hand up on her left shoulder with a bloodied face.

"You demons really have such endurance... But I guess this is it for you, demon girl." Bahamut slowly approached her unmoving position as she panted in exhaustion. Her left eye was closed as a streak of blood flowed right above it. Her body sustained a lot of damage just by seeing the scratches and bruises all over it.

She had barely enough strength to fight.

"This time I'll help you return to Lord Zeref... Stay still and die." Stretching his right hand pointed towards her, Bahamut began to release a dark beam on his palm which soon grew into larger portions as the field before them began to tremble due to its immense power.

"Sayla!"

..

..

She could hear him screaming out her name but her body won't listen to her anymore as she was left kneeling in pain and simply stared at the dark beam in front of her.

An aching feeling crept its way onto her chest as she faced her imminent demise. This was the first time she was feeling like this. It was strange... For her to harbor this feeling of regret inside of her.

Although she was prepared to meet Zeref, her heart begins to feel regret and loneliness-

No... That's not it.

There's something even more than that.

She was scared.

She was afraid to die. A demon fearing death is something very unreal for her. One by one, her emotions have started to clump together inside her heart as she saw her impending demise.

For the first time ever, she didn't want to return back. For some reason she wanted to live a bit more with him. She didn't want to reunite with Zeref.

She wanted to walk alongside with him and travel distant places with him. She wanted to continue her journey with him. That's what her heart was trying to say.

..

..

It is as if she wanted to live...

With tears slowly streaking down to her cheeks, Sayla closed her eyes as the dark beam was shot from Bahamut's hand and went straight towards her in fast speeds.

For it would seemed to be her last words, She cried out.

"Save me, Natsu."

..

..

..

 **Fwoosh***

Just before a dark beam could end her, Natsu instantly appeared right in front of her and wrapped his arms around her and shielded himself from the beam with his back. Taking the full hit, the pinkette could only grit his teeth in frustration until the beam dissipated.

Sayla was surprised to see him near her and shielded her from the blast as she saw his shadowed expression. His back was fully exposed and suffered injuries from the beam but there was no hint of pain on his face as he left unmoving with his arms still around her.

"N-Natsu...sama?"

Her words stutter as she saw him continuing to shelter away from danger. She could feel his warmth safely comforting her with each passing second.

There was a long silence between them until Natsu muttered underneath his breath.

"Do you think that I'll be happy if you died? Do you think that being a demon would never allow you to share what humans really have? What I've gained from them?" His voice was slowly getting louder as if he was also venting out his anger towards her right now.

"If you're so afraid to die then why don't you just live on for my sake!?"

..

..

"Natsu..."

"That's why... Don't go throwing your life just like that! Demon or not, you're already my friend and I would never want any of my friends to die right in front of my eyes!"

After saying that, Sayla could only tear up from her eyes as she slowly lost all her strength and eventually cried out to show her true emotions. With Natsu holding onto her, she could only cry right unto his chest as he felt through her tears slightly drenching his clothes with each passing second. Only the cries of her could only be heard in the battlefield as Natsu sheltered her with his own body protectively, comforting her with his presence right beside her.

He didn't care of where she came from. Or when she was his enemy. Her tears only proved that she was just like any other living being wanting to be accepted regardless of her being a demon or not.

The only thing worth doing is to stand by beside her and protect her as one of his precious friends.

As few minutes passed, Bahamut could only feel disgusted at the sight, seeing that the battle was getting delayed between him and the two.

"So you're still able to move, demon... I'm glad that was the case. Or else I wouldn't be enjoying this little game I'm having with you two. And seeing her cry and fear for her own death made it even worse for her to call a demon. Maybe perhaps I was right to be getting rid of you since you don't belong in the Etherious race."

"Do you think that crying is a bad thing?" It was then Natsu spoke as his voice immediately turned ominous apart from what it was when he was talking with Sayla.

Slowly letting go of his hold on the demon girl, Natsu stood up and glanced around to face the giant demon with a shadowed expression.

"Heh, your face doesn't scare me!" Bahamut glared. "I'll make sure to break your bones so that you won't be able to stand up against me, bastard."

Despite his threats, Natsu remained unfazed as he still covered his own face with his pink hair locks before a surge of energy began to form around his body as flames coated his figure before showing off an intense heat wave around him that could easily melt anything around him in close proximity. Sayla somehow remained unharmed at the heat despite being close to him as she was left shocked at his sudden change of power.

Bahamut began to raise his guard up as he felt a strong power emanating inside from the pinkette himself.

..

..

Slowly, Natsu eventually lifted up his face towards him to finally show his true expression as his eyes eventually turned crimson, replacing his once black onyx ones. His teeth becoming more sharper than ever as dragon scales formed around his eyes, signifying his use of the Dragon Force.

His flames has gone into a dramatic change as its color turned darker and redder than it was before. The ground below him was easily scorched as he poured more power into his own reserves.

It was then, a sense of dread went over to Bahamut as Natsu began to speak his words to him.

 **"Then I'll make sure to remind you how fearful I really am..."**

..

..

..

In a split-second, Bahamut felt a large pain coming right over to his chest as Natsu instantly appeared right before him and launched a flashing kick right into his chest, sending him away in vast speeds as a massive shockwave soon appeared just after he kicked him, shaking the entire ground as Bahamut crashed into a far distance away.

Sayla was just stunned to see such speed like that before. Even Bahamut was not able to follow through that attack just now.

As Natsu stood on a fair distance, she began notice a change on Natsu's body. His Fairy Tail guildmark has been replaced by what it seemed to be the guild mark of Tartaros itself until flames surrounded him and easily healed all his injuries as the scratches on his face were instantly gone in a second.

Flame-like black markings formed around his arms as Natsu faced the shocked Bahamut who staggered away in the ruins with his face full of disbelief and confusion at his sudden change in power.

"You bastard... I'll kill you!"

Suddenly launching himself towards the pinkette, Natsu simply lifted his right arm as a huge dome of red dark flames erupted around Bahamut and easily engulfed him whole, causing him huge amounts of pain due to the intense heat it was giving.

 **"Burn..."**

"Gaaaah-" Bahamut screamed in pain as the flames grew larger and eventually dissipated as the pinkette returned his hand back down and revealed a heavily burnt demon afterwards.

After a few moments, Bahamut's high speed regenration started to kick in as the burns began to vanish away from his skin before looking back at the unmoving pinkette in front of him.

"No matter what power you try to hurt me, I'll always heal right back up... Even with that power-up of yours, you can't defeat me." He taunted as he stood up right back up and began to shoot a dark beam towards him.

On the other hand, Natsu remained calm despite his claims and shot a glance towards Sayla behind him with a faint smile.

"If you want to live your life from now on... Then I should also accept this cursed power of my own. Not to harm but to protect those who are precious to me." He paused before taking a few steps away from her.

"I'll end this in a minute."

And with that, he looked at Bahamut with face full of determination as he made a deep breathe before moving into his battle stance as flames gathered up around his arms, seemingly to prepare his own killer move to end the match once and for all. His skin slowly darkens as the markings around his arms glow slight in dark red in response to his power.

Bahamut noticed his power as well and simply began to pour out more power right into his palm as the dark beam grew intensely larger.

"I see that you wanted to end this fight now... Well, I guess I should also end this right now."

Two sides formed up their strongest powers as the field around them began to shake due to their magic's intensity. Rocks and smaller debris flew away from the vicinity as the two demons finally charged up their spells and took one last glance at each other.

"Die, demon!"

"Take this!"

Shouting at the top of their lungs, Natsu and Bahamut released their spells right against each other.

 **"Demonic Fire Dragon's Cursed Flame!"**

 **"Dark Illuminus!"**

In just a few seconds, both fire and dark collided at each other as the two waves tried to overpower one another. Both sides poured onto their best of magic powers right into their power finishers as the area around them began to shake roughly due to the immense spike of power in them.

Even Bahamut couldn't maintain much of his position as his footing began to skid due to the overwhelming power of the pinkette before him. His eyes widened in shock as his dark beam soon began to lose power and the flame wave began to overpower him.

Gritting his teeth in frustration, he tried to pout out his reserves and tried to push it away one more time but Natsu never flinched from it and simply continued in increasing his flames to cover the entire area around Bahamut.

Moments later, the beam eventually dissipated and the wave came towards the giant demon in full speed, easily enveloping him in red dark flames as the wave ravaged the entire area, leaving a large destroyed path from its direction and then resulted into a massive nuclear-sized fire explosion in a distance away from the battlefield.

Dust and fires surrounded the place as the aftermath of the power struggle comes to a close as the two demons eventually saw the burnt figure of Bahamut lying down on the destroyed area in his still Etherious form.

Sayla simply watched at the unfolding scene as Natsu slowly began his approach on the downed demon before him and stopped right on his lying figure with an emotionless expression.

Soon afterwards, a rough chuckle came from below as the wounds around Bahamut began to heal once again before he immediately regained consciousness and eventually smirked at the pinkette.

"Heh... N-No matter how many times you throw at me... You won't be able to kill me." He coughed.

"Who said about killing you? I'll destroy you until there's none left for you to heal."

"E-Eh...?"

Without giving him time to reply back, Natsu shot up another huge pillar of fire around them, engulfing them whole as Bahamut screams resounded throughout the battlefield until it simmered down along with the flames as the scorched remains of the demon slowly fade away into nothingness, leaving only a lone demon, standing with his head held high to the sky as the clouds covered the entire world again.

Tiny droplets formed around the destroyed battlefield as Sayla slowly staggered her way towards the still dragonslayer who haven't moved an inch ever since the battle ended.

After finally closing her distance to him in just a few meters, Natsu finally moved as he shifted his head right to Sayla with a somber face. His hair drenched from the endless downpour as the markings around his arms disappeared along with the dark skin that forms around his body.

"It's over now, isn't it?" He spoke to her in which she didn't answer as they stared right at each other for a moment.

It was then Natsu slowly lost all his strength and was about to fall until he was caught by a her with her soft hands and eventually nestled his head closer to her chest protectively as the rain continued to pour down on the two. Fires were instantly put out by the rain and the landscape was once again painted into a grey hue, leaving only two figures in the center kneeling on the ground with her comforting the tired boy.

The pain from her injuries were still sore but she ignored it as she wanted to be for him in this moment. With his sleeping face visibly close to her, she only wanted nothing more to be the one to comfort him at these times.

There were no words to be exchanged with each other as they continued to stay like that as Natsu rested peacefully in her arms, remembering the same warmth that he once had with his friends.

* * *

 **A/N: Well I guess, this stops the chapter here. How's the fight scenes and the development so far. Honestly, I think it's a little bit rushed here since the whole battle and meeting between them got only three chapters as of now but I guess I'll try to flesh out their characters in a few more chapters until they finally accepted their own relationship as friends and probably proceed to even more than that.**

 **And while at it, I'm sure there's bound to be his friends opinion on his new companion here in the future and it will be up to Natsu whether he would want to protect Sayla and many more of his hard choices to make in the future.**

 **I suppose in the next two or three chapters. We're bound to the one year time-skip so the prelude for the Avatar Arc is incoming. Look forward to that.**

 **As always, thanks for your support on this story! Stay tuned on the next chapter guys! :)**

 **\- wiErD SpeCtrumz blacking out... ... ...**


	5. To Be With Him

**A/N: Sup everyone. wiErD here. As always, I'm here for another chapter with ya'll.**

 **So I was surprised by the reviews from the last chapter. I never actually thought that you would like it, honestly. I admit, I did it half-assed because I felt it to be rushed on some point but seeing your comments on this story makes me motivated more than ever. And I hope to still surprise you all again on my future chapters to come.**

 **Thank you so much for your kind support. I really appreciate it! :D**

 **Best Crack ship ever in my opinion!**

 **With that said, let's get this chapter going.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own FT nor it characters. All goes to Hiro Mashima. Support the official release.**

* * *

 **\- To Be With Him -**

Natsu felt like he had been drifting off into a dream-like state for quite some time as he managed to find himself yet again in one of the beds of an unknown room which he seemed to recognize yet. His head had been on a painful state as he slowly placed his right hand over it to caress it gently.

It was only for a moment until it went away, prompting him to calm down once again.

Taking a small sigh underneath his breath, the pinkette laid his head back to the pillow once more thus, facing the wooden ceiling in the process. It's been a long time ever since he had rested on a bed before. All he did until now was keeping his distance away from people in order not for them to be harmed by his curse powers.

It was at that time, he began to remember everything that happened to him back before he got here.

That's right...

He was fighting Bahamut but-

.

.

-the outcome of it didn't really feel like triumphant to him. Never in his life he would actually destroy an opponent to the point of disintegrating them from existence. He was aware of what he did back then and he could only feel awful to himself for doing such a thing.

Maybe it was out of anger... Maybe it was his power... No matter what that is, he'd done it and he cannot return back to the way it is.

Guiltiness immediately seeped into his very heart as it suddenly felt heavy to carry such a burden. His powers are still uncontrollable but he knew that he had no other choice but to use it in order to save themselves from the defective demon.

However, as soon as he thought that, the image of a certain demon girl immediately rushed back into his mind, causing him to widen his eyes in surprise.

 _'Sayla...'_

He slowly lifted his head to scan the small room around him and found simple furniture for one person to satisfy his needs but he didn't stop there. He shifted his head around and ultimately found her sitting on a nearby chair beside his bed with her head peacefully rested above her crossed arms beside him.

Her face is clearly visible and all he could do is gaze at her for a moment which only made him realize that she's alive and well. A huge wave of relief rushed over to him as his gaze softened while continuing to watch her sleeping cute face.

He's not gonna lie but the way she does her things right now such as sleeping like this makes her as normal as other people he met in his years of companionship. Well, except for the type of race she is.

Nevertheless, he felt happy on the inside that she was able to harbor such emotions and expressions such as this one which kinda makes him think that demons are not such bad people altogether. Sayla is just one of those demons who aren't really aware of their potential to change their ways in such that she would come to appreciate the life of living like a person instead of thinking that she's nothing but a tool to be disposed of.

Even though being created by Zeref, she learned many things in just a few days about the life he always had together with Fairy Tail. A lot of things that she was created not to experience however-

.

.

-he did prove it wrong as she found her own life to be valuable and not entirely useless in her eyes. The fear of death is something that he doesn't even consider as a sign of weakness.

It was a sign of acknowledging your existence in this world. That you're not a disposable living being with no purpose. It was the first thing she experienced firsthand and it impacted her very personality that will probably soon help her to become more like a human.

In the meantime, all he could do for her is to guide her and help her to experience it. As a master, it's his job to take care of his guildmates, right? Although he hated the fact of him being guild master of some dark guild.

While in the midst of his inner conversations, he didn't notice the slight movement coming from the demon girl as Sayla slowly wakes up from her slumber and eventually found herself yet again in a woozy state.

It only took her only a few more seconds to recompose herself until she saw Natsu sitting up straight from his position with a warm smile on his face.

Passing up a casual greeting to her, he called out.

"Yo..."

Without warning, the fire dragonslayer was tackled by Sayla in their first meeting as the latter hugged the former tightly with tearful eyes, showing her current emotions towards the confused pinkette.

"Thank the Etherious, you're alive!" She cried out in happiness as Natsu felt like he was choking from her tight embrace from each passing second. And not only that, he felt something squishy pressing into his chest as he looked down and saw her dirty mounds squeezing themselves in between him which somehow made him blush in the process.

Oh god, if he had to compare her and Erza, Sayla had more liberty in showing off her concern to him more than to her, seeing that she does not feel any embarrassment and humiliation from her current actions. I guess, being a demon has more of its bits of flaws when showing their emotions towards other people.

In any case, he had to do something if he doesn't want to die from both strangulation and suffocation.

"S-Sayla... You're hugging me too tight!" He squeaked out in pain as the demon girl realized of her actions and immediately retracted back in order to give him space to breath.

Fortunately, Natsu got to breath at the right moment before he could even pass out once again. Honestly, she's just like the same with Erza, only that he didn't have to experience hard hug smacks from her breastplate.

Leaving those thoughts aside, he drew his attention back to the girl once more with a smile.

"How are you?" Sayla began.

"I'm fine... for now at least... The pain in my head is gone by now which is great for me."

"Does your injuries still hurt?" She asked with worry.

"No... I'm alright now, thanks. My injuries doesn't seem to be that bad though I'm more worried about you."

"What about me?"

"I mean, the last time I saw you, you were hurt pretty bad. Are you okay walking around like that?"

"Demons have high-speed regeneration if they take a long rest for the whole day... It's as fast as Bahamut but it works fine for me. See?" She showed some of her newly-patched wounds and cuts from her arms and Natsu found them completely fine with no scars or anything from it.

Natsu could only amuse himself at the feat but it was not long until her face suddenly drooped down a little, filled with regret as she lowered her head in shame towards her with her hair masking her expression.

"I'm... sorry." She muttered.

"Huh?"

"Because of me, you had to release your power even though you didn't want to... You fought for me even though it was me who deserved all of it." She frowned as she continued.

Realizing what she meant, Natsu's face softened yet again as he looked at her in wonder.

"No one decides your fate whether you were bound to someone... Even to me. I don't want another person dying in front of me. I just can't." He spoke with regret in his voice as his memories led him back to the brutal death of his foster father. His expression however, didn't go unnoticed as Sayla was able to notice the sad expression in his eyes as she looked at him closely.

"... There's nothing on this world that will bind you to do what they wanted you to do... Remember that. You should do try to do something that is from your own decision and not from Zeref nor to me."

"Yes..." She meekly nodded.

"And also... don't go doing the same thing ever again. No matter what you think, you're my friend and I just can't leave you to die out somewhere. Okay?" He reminded.

"Yes... Master-

"Didn't I tell not to call me master? Natsu is just fine. We're friends, aren't we?" He sharply spoke back with slight irritation in his voice.

"Y-Yes... N-N-Natsu..." She shyly replied.

.

.

They were silent for a moment until Natsu spoke again.

"Thanks again..."

"Eh?" She replied with confusion.

"For taking care of me... I appreciate it." He smiled warmly towards her.

"O-Oh... i-it's uhhh-"

"Just say, you're welcome..."

"What?"

"It's what humans do when they're showing their gratitude towards the one they're helping..." He explained.

"Oh... Y-You're welcome." She copied in a shyly manner in which made the pinkette to relax for a moment and simply returned back to his bed to rest.

"See? That's one step in understanding humans... You should practice it when you helped someone other than me, alright?"

"Of course... Natsu." She replied without hesitation.

It was then she sat there looking at the resting pinkette beside her who seemed to be lost in thought just after their conversation. This was the first time she'd ever had a conversation this long to another person or rather, to a demon. She had her share of times back when Tartaros is still running and from what she could remember, she never held a long conversation with either one of them, even to Kyoka for that matter.

Right now, she had been taking her time talking to her guildmaster for quite awhile in which she finds it odd and surreal for some reason. It's probably because Natsu had this bright yet comforting atmosphere surrounding him every time she wanted to talk to him about things.

Normally, she would just shun this opportunity away even from normal humans but right now, she felt like she wanted this last longer for a bit.

Biting her lip in frustration she tried to take the initiative as she began to speak towards him.

"W-What are you thinking about?" She asked curiously.

"Ah, I was just thinking back about my friends, you know... ... I wonder how they're doing in these past couple of days." He replied with somber tone on his voice.

Although it was kinda out of place for her to butt in, the curiosity of knowing about her enigmatic guildmaster drives her to push further.

"Do you... Do you miss them?"

"Of course, I do... but I think it's impossible to return back to them after all the things I've done to hurt them without knowing it." He frowned.

Truth be told, she understood what he was trying to blame himself for. He was the guildmaster of the guild that inflicted harm to many people, including his precious guild and family. Perhaps the guiltiness that build up inside his heart made him hard to turn back to his family and stay the same.

It was also partly her fault too since she hurt some of his friends back then.

"Do you want to return back to them?" She offered which soon caught his attention.

"What are you talking about?"

"I think... that they will still forgive you for who you are... Why do you think they would betray you just by knowing your history, right?"

"It's not that easy... I'm END and Natsu Dragneel all the same. One fact I can't deny is that I caused them harm by leading them to Tartaros." He reasoned.

"But I believe they will understand if you explain it to them. That you never really intended to harm them because you care for them, right?"

"Why are you suddenly asking something like this?" He asked.

There was a light pause between them as Sayla hesitated for a moment to answer until she continued.

"If maybe, just maybe that I would take all the blame for all myself... That I... ... manipulated you in doing things like this, I'm sure your friends' anger will be directed towards me." She suggested.

"W-What are you talking about? Are you saying that you should lie about me and force them to believe that you caused all this?" He asked in a slightly angered tone.

To make matters worse, his anger kept building up when she nodded without hesitation.

"Do you understand what you're talking about? What are you saying all of a sudden?!" He suddenly rose up from his bed and turned towards the demon girl who had her head lowered beside him in a somber expression.

"Yes..."

After that answer, Natsu could only grit his teeth in anger once more.

"Bullshit! Do you think lying would make them feel any better? That they would believe me when they found out the truth that you lied about me?!"

"It's better than having you force yourself into something that you don't want to do..." She suddenly interrupted which stopped the pinkette from speaking any further.

"...You miss your friends and I know that it pains you to just see them off without saying anything to them... Do you want to leave it just like that?"

"Of course, I don't want to but I'll promise to return back to them once this is over-"

"What if you don't?" Her next question rattled him.

"What if I don't?"

"What if you can't return back to the way you were and stayed like this forever? Do you still want to pursue in finding the solution even though the chances are minimal?" She asked.

"Well that's-"

.

.

"You strive for an answer to free yourself of this burden... And I know that you won't accept yourself as END and I have nothing against that. All I want is for the best of my master and that he should return back to his friends and start over again."

"Sayla... ..."

"I know it sounds selfish but I guess that's one trait that demons usually have." She trailed off in thought with a smiling face.

"Then what about you? Are just gonna let yourself be blamed for the rest of your life for the things you've actually never done?"

"I have no words to say anything to it... And I would gladly take that role just to help you, Natsu."

It was then he couldn't take it anymore... He gripped the sheets tightly with his bare hands as his frustration grew even more towards the girl before him.

"Just why would you go through such lengths for me, Sayla?!" He slightly raised his voice.

At first she didn't answer but after a few seconds, she stood up from her seat and slowly paced through the door before glancing back towards the pinkette with a sad smile on her face.

.

.

"Isn't it obvious? I wanted you to be happy... I don't want to see you suffer because of all of this. I don't want my master to feel sadness when he's not the one who should really deserve it..." As her words trailed off her mouth, tears slowly streak down from her eyes and down to her cheeks as Natsu could see the sadness of her face once more.

It took him just a moment to realize of what she currently feeling.

She was worried for him. She never displayed such emotions ever since they've met for the first time which soon made him think that she's just another demon who follows orders from someone higher than her. But to actually see her crying like this, worrying about him like this and suggesting things that would benefit him without asking anything in return makes him realize that she truly cares for him that greatly.

It was never in the form of a master-and-servant relationship, it was her own accord to actually try to suggest something in order for him to return back to the life that he lost.

As she stood there crying, she was left surprised as a pair of arms simply wrapped around neck and eventually was pulled closer to someone's chest that soon widened her eyes in surprise as Natsu approached her with an apologetic expression on his face.

"N-Natsu?"

"I can never go back to the life of where my friends are... The only life I had right now is me travelling with you together. That's the only thing that's making me go further and try harder for myself. To be honest, I'm just running away without thinking anything in the future but-

.

.

-ever since meeting you, I finally have a purpose. That I would live on no matter what I am and help you experience the things that you never experienced before. No matter how small it is, I wanted you to live what it means to be human. After all, I'm your master and it's my job to look out for my members whenever they're in trouble. Isn't that how a guild works, right?" He paused.

"So promise me one last time... Don't you ever leave on my side again, alright?"

"N-Natsu..."

"No matter what happens, I will always be right beside you... You're not alone, I promise."

After saying those words, only the sobs were heard in the entire room as Sayla silently cried in his arms in which he proceeded to patting her head for the first time to comfort her in the process. He doesn't know what the future has in store for the two of them however...

No matter what happens from here on out, it will be only just be him and her against the world.

"You okay now?" He asked as he noticed that the sob finally stopped.

"Mmm..." She only nodded in response while still not letting go of his embrace.

"Please don't say anything like that again, okay? We're in this together and whatever happens, I'll be the one who will stand beside you."

"Mmm..." Again, she nodded as a small faint smile returned back to her face as Natsu notices it and could only sport a similar smile towards her and they hugged each other together without letting each other go for a second.

They just wanted to stay like this for a little quite longer. And Sayla could feel the warmth in her chest as she snuggled closer to him in peace.

And for the first time in her life, she felt truly happy in the arms of her master.

* * *

 _ **The next day...**_

After the whole recovery between Natsu and Sayla on their first job together, they proceeded back to the guild and claimed their rewards without any trouble along the way. So far, their identities haven't been revealed and that they finally made their first jewels on their travel together. Although, their shady clothes and cloaks have aroused some suspicions from other people, both the two of them managed to evade their presence and simply went off to find another place to settle.

It was an obvious plan for them to act out since they don't want to catch any attention from the humans especially to mages, knowing that they're from the Etherious race. In any case, they didn't care of how bothersome it was for them. As long as they keep continuing forward, they'll be fine.

Trudging down to the dirt road before them, Sayla tiptoed a few steps ahead of Natsu who had his head tilting in confusion on her sudden perky attitude in the start of the morning.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"I just saw some bunch of little humans back at the town doing like this..." She replied with a lighthearted smile.

To be honest, Natsu still couldn't get himself used to her being all kind and good all of a sudden. Before, she was pessimistic and had shown distaste towards human culture but now, it was quite the opposite. It's not like he's having a problem with it though. It's just that her new ways has yet to sink in to his head for quite awhile now.

"What is it about them?" He asked in curiosity.

"Nothing... Just curious." She beamed back.

"You're weird... Although, I think we should start by learning from older humans, you know... At this rate, you'll become a demon with a mind of a kid."

"Is that so? Should I follow yours instead?" She replied.

"I don't mind... As long as you don't do anything that attracts attention. Just take it easy one at a time." He suggested.

"Yes of course... Master." She bowed in respect.

"I told you already not to call me like that..." He groaned.

"But it feels better for me to say it like that... After all, you're my guildmaster." She explained.

"Suit yourself, then." He brushed off the thought and went along in the journey once again.

And in just like that, the two continued their journey together as Natsu and Sayla walked along the road with their cloaks up on their head to cover their heads from passing people. Despite having their horns above their heads, they must not risk of it being seen by anyone or it would start a panic or attention towards the Rune Knights or rather what was left of it.

Come to think about it, since Tartaros have crippled the Magic Council a couple of days back, shouldn't the security and the Rune Knights have ceased to function by now.

To add more of their curiosity, there hasn't any sightings of a Rune Knight nearby even at some parts of their travel.

They could only assume that they were being on the midst of rebuilding the Council back into shape. However, they don't know how much time it would take them to recover and Natsu and Sayla don't have enough time to know more about it either.

As long as they could flee themselves in hiding, they're not going to attract any attention for the time-being.

.

.

Going back to the two, Natsu turned to look at the demon girl beside him as she tightly held onto her hood as a couple of travelers passed by them just a few moments ago.

"Are you okay?" He asked in worry.

"Yeah... it's just that... ... it's hard to hide these horns to other people, not knowing that I'm actually a demon."

"It's hard on us, huh?" He trailed off in thought as they stopped on their tracks for a moment and gazed towards the bright sky in wonder.

"Yeah... And I know you're trying to help me blend in with the humans but if it's too much for you to handle, don't push yourself... I'm just fine having to travel with you, Natsu."

"I thought you liked Master being better?"

"Is it bothersome?"

"N-No... Nevermind." He shook his head. "Anyways, I think I know what to do to solve our problems for the time being." He then proceeded to pick something on his pack and eventually took out a small bottled potion and showed it to the demon girl.

"What's that?"

"It's an invisibility potion... If I rub some of it to our horns, it would help us feel more like humans and we don't even need to wear our hoods for the time being... Usually, this lasts about a week or two so we should apply at least some of it once a week to maintain its effect." He explained.

Sayla wasn't still sure about what to say at the moment but she ultimately nodded as Natsu applied some of it on his horns in which they disappeared in just moments after rubbing it.

He turned towards her with the same anticipation as he took the potion and put some bits of it to his hand.

"You ready?"

"Y-Yes..." She said with uncertainty.

With him nodding in response, he proceeded to apply the lotion into her giant horns in the process.

.

.

However, as soon as his hands touched to her horns, Sayla felt a rather tingling feeling creeping up to her body as she squeaked out in response before a silent moan was released from her mouth.

"Hieeya~ N-Natsu... ..." She called out.

"What? What's wrong?" He asked confusingly.

"M-My horns... You're... kyaaa~" It was then, her moans have started to become noticeable as Natsu took a couple of seconds to realize what she actually was trying to say to him after touching her horns.

"H-Hey... don't tell me-" He tried to finish but Sayla insisted to cut him off before speaking for herself.

"J-Just hurry up and finish it~" She moaned.

"R-Right... Just endure it for a bit, Sayla." He pleaded before he began rubbing some lotion towards her horns which soon made it hard for her to keep her moans inside. Inevitably, she couldn't take it anymore as she released a rather arousing moan into the air which only made her and him blush in the process but Natsu continued in further in order to finish it once and for all.

As much as he hated doing this, he might actually fear that they had to do this once in a week if they ever wanted her horns to be concealed. He might need to take note of doing this somewhere secluded to avoid any misunderstandings. And judging from her reactions, it seems like her horns were pretty sensitive to touch.

Sayla could only fidget on her position as the feeling continued to invade her body as if subduing her very will into it. She couldn't explain it but for some reason, she felt rather good after experiencing it for the first time. However, her instincts to look tough in front of him made her to deny these urges and try to keep a straight face as the process finally comes to its final stage.

Oh, this wasn't suppose to happen by the way. She didn't even know that her horns were that sensitive to touch. If other people caught wind of her weakness, she would never live it down.

.

.

After a few minutes of pleasure and torture, the two finally finished as Natsu heaved huge breaths for a moment to try and clear his head from embarrassment. As dense as he is, he couldn't take to see her flustered expression for a long time and somehow he felt bad about doing it to her although they have to keep doing it if they wanted their horns concealed from the eyes of the people.

Sayla on the other hand simply sat with her knees bent up front while also having a huge pink blush on her face as the feeling inside her hasn't vanished for quite some time now. Due to that, she had no strength to actually stand up on her knees.

"Are you okay?" He tried to ask. There was a long pause between them as Sayla tried to speak.

"S-Somehow..." She shyly replied. Her blush still visible from his eyes.

"I'm sorry by the way... I didn't know." He apologized.

"I-It's alright... It's just that I never thought that my horns would be this sensitive."

"If you don't want it again, just tell me, okay? You don't need to force yourself if you can't afford to." He suggested.

"I-I'm fine... I'll get used to it." She tried to stand but her knees gave way too easily as she fell down on her once again, confused of what just happened.

"E-Eh? W-Why can't I stand?"

"Do you need help?" He offered.

"It's fine... I just need to restore my strength then I'll-" She tried to stand up again but her legs won't listen to her as she fell down once again. However, just as she was about to hit the ground again, a pair of warm hands rested on her chest as Natsu held onto her to prevent her from hitting the ground and simply knelt in front of her with a blank expression.

"Come on... don't be silly... I'll carry you." He offered but Sayla could only flail her arms in disbelief of what he just said.

"E-Ehhh? I-I told you I'm fine... You don't need to worry about me-"

"Ahhh, you're so persistent..." He groaned in pain as he suddenly slung her arms over to his neck and heaved her legs with his arms on the back and eventually carried her in the process.

"... Geez, you're always acting so tough in front of others... At least, share that burden with me... I already told you that we're in this together, remember?" He scolded but Sayla could only frown in the process.

"Sorry..."

.

.

"Well I guess, it doesn't matter now... I'm not even mad at you..." He reassured as they resumed their walk together as Natsu carried her on his back without a sweat.

"Do you really think I can fit in with the humans?" She asked doubtfully.

"Of course. Now that your horns are concealed, everyone will think that you're a human like them." He smiled wide.

"But you said that lying is a bad thing." She teased.

"Well, that's a different thing... I'm doing this for you, you know." He replied with a trailing thought.

"F-For me?"

"Yeah..."

And after that, she could only look at him for a moment before wondering to herself of how much he would do things just for her. Even though they were once enemies, they soon became friends after understanding each other's pain.

She could only wonder if meeting him was destiny or luck. Nevertheless, she never regretted ever traveling with him like this. Instead, it became a wish for her to somehow... ... continue this journey together with him.

To be with him.

.

.

Resting her head onto his back with a smile on her face, Sayla could feel the same warm feeling creeping up unto her heart once more whenever she thought about him. She wanted to know what it is. What that feelings was trying to tell her.

In the meantime, she could only content herself in the arms of her companion at this moment.

* * *

 **A/N: That's it for the chapter. Hope ya like it.**

 **This is the start of their journey together as inseparable friends on an never-ending adventure. Sayla would now change her ways on the humans and Natsu would try to acknowledge his curse powers little by little as they met with obstacles along the way in the near future. One of them is his friends from the past trying to bring him back no matter what. Well, I guess we're bound to go into that soon after posting a one year timeskip in the next few chapters.**

 **As always, thanks for your utmost support on this story. I really appreciate it!**

 **Don't forget to leave a review and tell me what you think. :)**

 **\- wiErD SpeCtrumz blacking out... ... ...**


	6. To Live Like A Human

**A/N: Sup everyone. wiErD here. I have another chapter for you all.**

 **Hope ya like it! :)**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own FT nor anything from its elements and characters. Support Hiro Mashima and the official release.**

* * *

 **\- To Live Like a Human -**

It's been a few weeks since the incident about Bahamut and the two had been laying low for past couple of days without attracting any attention from other people. Natsu and Sayla have been remotely settling their camp just at the outskirts of each town as a way of living themselves for the time being. Nomadic as it seems, they didn't seem to care since they usually head out to the town to get some things and went off again to another place as a means of hiding their tracks from any mages who are bent on finding them.

Although, the chances of one of them actually trying to do that is minimal, they couldn't take any chances as it is.

So far, there hasn't been any problem between the two of them as Natsu could see the demon girl having fun as usual while also helping out in sorting their things together in their camp at the moment.

They just settled in yet again on another town and judging from the things they've earned, they seemed to have collected a great few things they needed to survive.

Leaving those thoughts aside, Natsu never felt any strange headaches in the past couple of days ever since he used it against Bahamut that day. He didn't know what kind of effects it has on his body after using it but he was glad that it didn't act up like it usually did during his first days as an Etherious.

As long as he can keep it in check, then he had no problems regarding that topic for now.

On the other hand, most of his attention are all focused on Sayla since he started out to take care of her in order to let her experience the life of living like a human from now on and also learn to appreciate them at the same time.

"Can you get me the map, Sayla?" He asked as the demon girl nodded and used her Macro to lift up the map on one of their backpacks in which soon made its way on the pinkette who gave a small thanks before stretching out the map to look at all the towns he visited.

"Are we settling out again?" She asked in curiosity.

"No... Just taking a look on our position right now just in case someone might be tracking us."

"I sense no suspicious movement from a few miles away so I think we're not being followed." She reassured which somehow calmed the dragonslayer for a moment and released a relieved sigh afterwards.

"I guess, you're right... I guess I'm just overthinking it quite a bit."

"You don't have to worry about it... If anything comes out very unusual on my senses, I can always inform you when that happens."

"Thanks... But mind that you don't focus too much on scanning our position... You have your own job, remember?"

"My job?" She tilted her head in confusion.

"What? You didn't know? It's time for you to blend in with the other people from now on... I hate to tell you this but seeing ourselves settling outside of every town we visited, people have been looking at us with suspicious looks."

"If that's what troubles you, I can use my Macro to make them sleep." She responded with a rather weird suggestion.

Natsu could only facepalm at her reply before looking back at her with a stern look.

"Hey, I told you that using magic against people is forbidden."

"I never said about killing them though... And might I add, it's a curse not magic." She puffed out in irritation.

.

.

Yeah right , he totally forgot to mention it...

This is also one of the things that Natsu is currently having with Sayla right now. He totally forgot that she can be quite irritating sometimes since she somehow doesn't agree to his conditions and words that much. You could say she's like a spoiled child who doesn't agree well with her parents when they tried taking her to do things that she don't want to do.

It's a good thing that she doesn't compare it to their position as master-and-servant relationship and that she can freely express herself whenever she wants to. And needless to say, it's quite hectic for him at least.

Even so, it adds up to the lively atmosphere between them and he was somewhat glad that she can freely talk the way she wants and not forced to keep her emotions in check when being talked about something.

Who would've thought that she would have a personality like this?

Quite unexpected isn't it?

Before Natsu could retort back to her, he calmed himself and tried to understand her for a moment and simply changed the topic.

"Alright... Let's try something different this time."

"What is?" She asked in confusion.

"If you want to look the part, you need some suitable clothes to blend in with the society."

"Huh?"

"Which means, you have to look the part." As soon as he said that, he took out a spare of dress clothes and presented it before her. It was a dark purple skirt with frills strapped on the edges around it and a pale colored top adorned with small frills on its short sleeves which is also accompanied by a small dark purple ribbon strapped on the center of it chest.

"What's this?" She asked as she held on to it with curiosity.

"A spare of clothes for you... Come on, we're heading to town for supplies." He called out as he readied his backpack together with his jewels for payment o their necessary needs.

Sayla didn't reply back but complied to his orders as she suddenly unstrapped her clothes almost instantly and obviously... ... right in front of him which soon made the dragonslayer to jump out in surprise as a result.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" He shouted with eyes as large as white saucers.

"Changing..." She answered with honesty.

"Do it somewhere else, dammit... Do you feel no shame?"

"No..." A facepalm soon came afterwards.

"Fine... just hurry it up." Natsu groaned as he kept his hands onto his virgin eyes to protect it although he did see Lucy naked a couple of times and never even bothered to react differently from it.

Maybe his powers has something to do with natural reaction... In any case, he's become quite conscious of himself towards others ever since taking in the form of an Etherious. He couldn't know if it's a good thing or not.

After a few minutes of changing, Sayla finally finished and eventually looked at the dragonslayer who still has his hands covering his eyes in front of her.

"I'm done..." As soon as she said that, Natsu eventually put down his hands and ultimately found Sayla wearing the new clothes he had given to her. Fortunately, it fits her just fine and the lack of her horns and the new set of clothes definitely made her look like a normal human being.

Of course, her beautiful face didn't go unnoticed from him as he gaze at her eyes for a moment which soon made the two of them stare at each other in a trance. For some reason, he was lost at words to say anything to her and Sayla could only fidget uncomfortably as a small tinge of blush could be seen from her cheeks in which she tried hiding it towards him.

"Uhhh... Natsu?" She tried to break off their stares at each other as Natsu somehow snapped himself out of it and eventually formed a small blush which he also hid from her with a uncertain tone on his voice.

"Y-Yeah... Sorry about that..."

.

.

The two were silent for a moment until Sayla decided to continue the conversation.

"S-So... how do I look?"

Natsu turned around to gaze again as he took a brief look on her features.

"It looks good on you..." Another form of blush went into her cheeks as she turned around in embarrassment while also trying to calm herself from the compliment.

She had to wonder though... Why does she feel embarrassed whenever Natsu had something good to say towards her?

Feeling that they wasted enough time talking to each other, Natsu released a contented sigh before walking towards her and eventually took her hand by surprise as he began to drag her together with him towards the road leading to town.

"Come on, let's go already... If we need to head back early as possible, we should finish our errands on the town." He spoke, leaving the demon girl to be surprised for a moment but softened her gaze afterwards after feeling the warm sensation of his hand to hers as she looked down to see their hands intertwined at each other.

For some reason, the same feeling she felt several days back returned once more and made her confused to think about this kind of feeling she was currently having.

Without her knowing, a small blush went over to her cheeks as a small smile crept its way over to her lips and could only close her eyes in content as they walked together towards the town itself.

..

..

* * *

 ** _At the town... (A few minutes later...)_**

The town itself features a lot of buildings and shops for travelers and townsfolk to wander into. There's a lot of other places to be worth exploring with as the streets were all but occupied with a sea of people going from different places and restaurants. Natsu and Sayla stood amongst the crowd with the latter having a rather uneasy feeling being around with a lot of people around her.

It was her first time being near to such number of humans before since she usually see the countless corpses of humans piled up during her days a part of the Nine Demon Gates. Honestly, having to see herself being helped by Natsu to experience the life of a normal human makes her kinda guilty at some point after remembering her times when she despised these beings around her.

Although, she had learned to live her life from now on, she still couldn't accept the fact that she once killed many innocent people, unlike Natsu who had done nothing and protected the ones he deemed very precious throughout his life.

It kinda creates a troubled feeling inside her chest whenever she tried thinking about it.

Natsu, on the other hand noticed her troubled expression and could no help but ask in worry.

"What's wrong?"

"It's just that it feels so wrong to see myself to experience something like this while also remembering the times when I killed countless of people before." She frowned in response as she lowered her head afterwards.

"... I know you're trying to help me but knowing all my bad actions from the past builds up this guilty feeling inside me." She trailed off in thought.

.

.

There was no response coming from the pinkette as Sayla knew that she probably killed a lot of people from the past without mercy. Knowing him, he might be uncomfortable talking something like this to him and would probably scold her for bringing up such a disturbing topic.

After a couple of seconds without talking to each other, a light chop on her head soon followed as Sayla turned to gaze at the pinkette who had his right hand above her head in which he used to snap her out of it while also sporting his usual toothy grin to her.

"Feel better now?" He asked.

"Eh?"

"What you're worried about is the past... No matter how bad you are from before, I would not hold anything against you. Plus, I'm not mad at you for doing such things that you were forced to do, right? Whatever happens from now on, it will be your own actions. Not bound to anyone." He instantly soothed her worries as her guiltiness suddenly vanished after hearing those words.

"Natsu..."

"So don't worry about it... I'll accept you no matter who you are." He smiled which soon earned her a blush once again, prompting her to shift her gaze away from him for a moment as her heart started to beat faster than it should.

After a few moments of calming herself down, she muttered underneath her breath.

"Thank you..."

"You're welcome... Anyways, we should start by buying some food for our travels to come... I'm also getting hungry." He suggested.

"Of course... That would be best."

And with that, the two demons straddled along the crowd and blended in with the people as Sayla could feel the uneasiness inside her as they pass through countless people. Despite all that, her heart feels at peace whenever she gazed towards their hands held together, seeing him dragging her to the world where she hadn't experienced before.

It didn't take long for them to actually reach to a nearby tavern in which they soon entered through the door and saw several people on their respective tables, drinking and whispering gossips at each other towards rumors of the outside world. The smell of liquor and sweat irritated the dragonslayer since he had a very sensitive sense of smell while Sayla ignored the disorder and simply scooted closer to him in which he didn't mind.

Taking a brief look over to the counter, they met an old man in a bartender suit who is in the middle of cleaning some mugs. A few seconds later, he took notice of the new guest comers and simply placed the mug back to the shelf before turning his attention back to them.

"What can I get for you, son?"

"Just a drink and some meal for two." He replied before flashing a pouch of jewels to the table. The old man took the pouch and simply went ahead to gather their order as Natsu and Sayla tried to find a place for them to sit while waiting their meal.

Fortunately, they found two chairs and a table situation on the far corner of the tavern itself. The two immediately settled there and waited for their order to come at their table.

"You humans are quite a diverse species... I've seen all the types in my lifetime but even to these kinds of people made me think that there's more to what I've seen from them until now." She mused.

"Don't ask me about it... Everyone's like that back at the guild." He blurted out unknowingly, causing her to fell silent all of a sudden after mentioning his guild once again. However, she hid her frown away from him and replaced it with a bitter smile to prevent him from worrying.

"I thought we're buying some food for our travels... Why are we eating out here again?" She asked.

"I'm hungry... Can't take it anymore." He explained before a loud rumble followed on his belly right after his reply.

Despite his silly reply, she only chuckle lightly underneath her breath but decided to play along with it. Aside from her uncomfortable new clothing given to her, she doesn't seem to heed any kind of problems regarding her first approach towards the human civilization.

It was quite surreal for her.

I mean, a demon living together with the humans is like an unreachable dream to achieve. No matter she looked at it, both sides have been at war against each other since the beginning of time. After all, their origins are nothing more than to one of Zeref's black arts that he made in the past centuries. Demons are the symbol of death and despair in the eyes of the humans until now and trying to live in their world where conflicts continue to increase their intensity is difficult.

Knowing how adamant Natsu would want her to live her life normally with them, she could not tell him that directly.

More like, she was afraid to tell him so.

She cared for him and she would not want him to feel dispirited. She did not want anyone... She only want him. That one thing is enough for her. Thinking secondly of what she just thought earlier, another wave of blush went from the demon girl as she hid her face from him in response in order to hide her flustered side.

"What's wrong?" Natsu asked, noticing the sudden change of her behavior towards him just now.

"N-Nothing..."

She managed to calm down afterwards and regained her composure before returning her attention back to him until a group of people began to surround their table just after minutes of settling down to the tavern. They were simply composed of men who were seemingly in their late 30s with swords and other magic weapons strapped into their hilt as if they were thugs.

"Excuse us, mind if I join in the conversation?" One of the man from the group began to speak which only made the two to assume that he was the ringleader.

At first, Natsu thought about taking Sayla away for a moment instead of showing his powers right of the bat until the latter simply replied in response with a calm expression.

"I'm sorry but I only need my companion with me... I don't need anyone else." She replied almost nonchalantly with a cool atmosphere surrounding her very nature in the process. Of course, the leader seemed to have been stuttered at her cold reply but kept his composure as he stood in between them but with his attention solely focused on her entirely.

"Aw, come on now, it's not like we're not gonna bite here, you know... We just want a little company. I'm sure you're friend here won't mind borrowing you for awhile." There was a hint of lust in his eyes and Natsu was gearing up in tearing his face apart in any moment now.

"I'm not some toy to be worth borrowing for... And he's not my friend... He's my lover."

.

.

.

There was bit of silence for a moment until Natsu blurted out in disbelief of what she was saying.

"HHHHUUUUHHHHH?!" His eyes nearly as wide as saucers after realizing for what she meant on those words.

"What's this? This little punk is your lover... I don't think so." The leader felt unconvinced and Sayla had enough.

Releasing a huge breath out from her mouth, the demon girl stood up but not long before she gazed at the ringleader with the same eyes she had whenever she's angry or pissed at someone. For a moment, Natsu became worried since she might do something stupid that might expose their identity and kill the man without remorse.

On the other hand, the man widened his eyes in shock as he managed to get the glimpse of her glowing purple eyes before he felt his body restricted for some reason and eventually lost all control over it.

And after a moment, the man turned towards his friends and stared at them for a brief moment until he released a hook and nailed it into one of his friends' faces, causing them to be surprised as a result.

W-What are you doing, boss?!" One of the man replied in confusion at his sudden hostility towards them.

"I-It's not me! W-What did you do, bitch?"

Before they could even glance towards the duo, there was nothing but air surrounding the table where they once sat, leaving the entire group to beat themselves up and cause an uproar inside the tavern as a result.

.

.

.

Located just a few meters away from the tavern, Sayla had pulled Natsu as she quickly took his hand and dashed away from the tavern without a second's notice which somehow confuses the dragonslayer in the process.

"Why are we leaving?"

"I can't stand those people... So I wanted to leave." She replied.

"That doesn't mean we should just leave immediately... I paid for that food." He groaned.

"Maybe some other time... I just don't like being on the center of attention from humans." She admitted.

"Well, I'm glad that you didn't try to kill them... For a second there, I thought you were going to harm them."

"Impossible... I wouldn't do that...I don't want to betray my master's wish in this opportunity to live with the humans... We just probably got a bad start with the wrong people." She smiled warmly.

"It seems so... Honestly, I'm just as pissed as you with those jerks back then." A sudden curiosity went from her mind as she looked at him quizzically.

"Why?"

"Well, it's because they-" Natsu stopped mid-way as he thought about what drove him to be mad in the first place. Turning his attention towards the curious girl beside him with a puzzled yet cute look on her face, the pinkette immediately blushed all of a sudden before shaking the thought coming from his head for assuming things out in the blue.

 _'No, no, no...! I'm seriously not thinking about that!'_ He scolded himself inwardly until Sayla began to notice his inner turmoil.

"Natsu?"

"W-What?" He turned away, unable to look at her directly at the moment as the tinge of blush hasn't subsided from his cheeks.

"Nothing... I'm just glad."

"Glad for what?" He asked in confusion. She hesitated for a moment until her face slowly becomes flustered all of a sudden before replying back to him with a seemingly embarrassed expression.

"For getting angry on my behalf..." She muttered.

"Oh... uhh- that, huh... It was nothing. They're looking pretty bit irritating in my eyes. I didn't do anything though." He scratched his head sheepishly.

"Even so, knowing that you get angry for me makes me somehow kinda happy." She admitted before looking back to him with a warm smile. "So, thank you... Natsu."

The dragonslayer could not find the words to actually say anything beyond that. Normally, he would just say something like "It's okay." or "No problem." towards those kinds of responses but with him talking to her face to face, he find it difficult to say something to her whenever she thanked him. All he could do is to gaze at those purple eyes of hers, full with curiosity and a hidden innocence behind that mysterious personality of hers.

Throughout the days they've been together as companions, he finally began to see her differently from what she was before. To him, she's no longer an enemy but a friend whom he can always count on despite her unusual behavior at some situations. Her displeasure towards humans has finally vanished and she learned the way of living her life with her own decisions.

Not bound to anyone nor to him. A demon with a renewed ray of hope, wanting to explore the world that she never experienced before. It was quite a sight to see.

They were staring at each other for quite awhile now until Natsu finally snapped himself out of his trance and regained composure.

"A-Anyways, we should go and buy the things we need just so we can travel quickly." He proposed as he paced towards the road before them. Although he didn't notice it, there was a slight frown coming from the demon girl as she stood beside him before following him afterwards.

.

.

.

They diverted their attention away from the tavern and simply went into another shop nearby to get some supplies on their own. The course of the day still haven't gone to the afternoon so they had a lot of time to spend their own time around as long as they don't get caught by anyone suspicious to them. Even though this was supposed to be a simple town, they cannot let their guard down since people around can deliver rumors or even reports to anything unusual to them.

Taking a break from their gathering of supplies, the two settled on a small bench together and began to recall their current progress for this day. Natsu began to read some newspaper he got from the town itself to see the news of the outside world as of now. Unfortunately, the whole topic was just about the Magic Council and the disturbing truth about Face together with the evil intentions of Tartaros.

There's no sign of any reports of him being hunted or retrieved as of now which somehow made him glad.

"What are you looking for?" Sayla's voice immediately went through his train of thought, snapping him from his focus and turned towards her with an apathetic sigh.

"Just looking to some news going around Fiore... It seems like there's nothing more than the talk about the destruction of the Magic Council and Face." A frown once again made its way towards the demon girl's face after hearing the incident that happened quite a few weeks back. Natsu immediately noticed her sudden change of behavior.

"Hey, it's all in the past... I'm not mad. You should try and come into terms with your past and move on. I can't blame you with all these things just because you were demon. The way you are now is not the one everyone's been fearing back then." He reassured.

"Is it really okay this way?"

"Of course, everyone should deserve a second chance to change their ways and try hard to improve themselves for the better. It doesn't matter if you're a demon or not, I'll help you in either way." He smiled. A certain blue-haired person came into his mind upon saying that. Like her, he also deceived others and hurt them. He'd even kill one of his friends because he was being misled.

The same thing happened to her and it was not her fault for her wrongdoings. She was being misguided to kill humans and despise them. She was forced to follow orders without asking anything and it took him just in time to finally free her and experience the life she had been given.

A lighthearted smile went over to her lips as Sayla immediately embraced the dragonslayer with her arms wrapped around his neck. Her face seemingly as close to the side of his face with her eyes closed in content. Natsu was shocked at first but eventually softened his gazed before returning the embrace.

"If you're going to hug me so suddenly, please tell me... I don't like being surprised, you know." He replied with a dismissive look but Sayla never replied but a nod on her head made her understand what he just said.

"Ne, Natsu..."

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad that I had a guildmaster like you..."

Natsu doesn't know if he would take it as a compliment. His position as guildmaster in some dark guild is kinda unsettling but a light feeling crept its way on to his chest as he smiled in return and accepted her words.

Eventually, the two broke away from their embrace as Sayla showed her sincere smile towards him which kinda makes the pinkette awkward when they face each other like this.

"Feeling better?"

"Yeah... Your body is kinda warm."

"Well, I'm a fire dragonslayer... I can control my heat temperature if I wanted to."

"It feels nice..." She answered in response which got Natsu taken aback from it and could only stutter in response with a tinge of pink blush rushing out from his cheeks once more.

Honestly, this girl's straightforwardness is making him edgy every time she says it to him.

Just as he was about to scoot away from her, a group of bystanders' conversation caught his attention as their voices were enough to be heard by anyone who is around their vicinity.

"Hey, did you hear?" One of the boys asked.

"Hear what?"

"About Fairy Tail?" Natsu quirked his brow in curiosity as they began to mention about his former guild.

"Ah, you mean that guild who just got back into being the number one guild in all of Fiore? I heard they were quite the catch and were powerful in the last Games."

"Yeah... I heard they were attacked just weeks after that."

"Dark guilds... Yeah, I'd see it coming since they were making a name throughout the Balam Alliance. Even the Magic Council's been hit. Fairy Tail managed to defeat them though. But man, their town is completely a battlefield out there."

"Yeah... I feel sorry for those people who were involved with it and also to what happened to their guild."

"What do you mean?"

"Haven't you heard? Fairy Tail disbanded just a few days ago. Everyone of them just scattered away."

* * *

 **A/N: Here's the chapter for you guys... Hope ya like it.**

 **Next chapter would now feature his training and acceptance of his curse powers. So for the other next chapter will be the timeskip and we'll be going to the Avatar Arc.**

 **That's all for now, I'll see you guys on the next update.**

 **\- wiErD SpeCtrumz blacking out... ... ...**


	7. The Evil Inside

**A/N: Sup guys, wiErD here and I've got another chapter for you all.**

 **Hope ya like it!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for my plots. Everything else is owned by Hiro Mashima. Support the official release.**

* * *

 **\- The Evil Inside -**

Night befalls on Earthland as the light of the sun vanished on the horizon, replaced by the ever growing darkness that soon blankets the whole land into a cold and chilly night. On the outskirts of a town near the outlying forest on the border towards another town, Natsu and Sayla continued their duties silently after they heard about what happened to Fairy Tail.

Sayla could understand his pain since she knew just how much he cared for the guild that raised him into a fine mage and the news of his guild actually disbanding shocked him.

After all, they never thought that Fairy Tail would actually disband but it seems like they were wrong.

Natsu walked to the middle of camp where the logs and sticks were still useable for a campfire He lit them on fire and released a sigh afterwards somehow catching the demon girl's attention. She wanted to speak but with things revolving around the pinkette's mind, it made it hard for her to say something to comfort him.

They were silent for a few minutes until Natsu finally broke the silent atmosphere between them.

"You know, if you're going to say something, I don't mind hearing it," He spoke suddenly, surprising the demon girl.

"W-Wha- I mean, I was about to but I don't want to trouble you or anything." Sayla stammered in response.

"It's alright... It's just that–this is a lot to take in, you know. I never thought that everyone would disband just like that and I'm not in the position to say anything against it since I'm like this." He sighed before turning over to his backpack and took out some food for himself and stared right into the fire in front of him.

"I guess, Gramps had a good reason behind it and I also think that everyone had the same reason to do so."

"Would you like to find out? I mean, find them." She offered.

"No– I don't want to approach them. I've decided that I would stay away from them as long as I have this curse inside of me. It might be also a matter of time before they would know who I truly am." A bitter smile made its way to his lips as he stared oddly into the fire which worried her in the process.

Another wave of silence went over to the two as Sayla failed to say anything back to keep their conversation running through the whole night.

"Hey Natsu." It was then she suddenly spoke, catching his attention in the process.

"Yeah?"

"What if–just what if I could help you in releasing your curse powers?" Of course, that question startled the dragonslayer as he widened his eyes in disbelief.

"Are you serious?! You know I can't do that! This power is way too dangerous. Look what it did to Bahamut. I didn't even hesitate that time!" He protested.

"I know but if we could just help in using your power differently from what it was originally meant to do, then it wouldn't be a problem for you to release anytime you want to without losing control." She proposed.

"What do you mean by that?"

"As of now, your powers are still incomplete and some of its power haven't merged into your magic which is to be expected since magic and curses never combined with each other that easily. Due to that, you're unconsciously tapping into that incomplete form which is more dangerous than a complete one because you never had full control of it." She explained.

"So you're saying that I should accept my curse alongside with my magic?"

"That would be the case. This has never been done before but you were the first Etherious and also the very first one to create curses, a power embodied in the negative emotions on the hearts of men. The curse gets its power around those who experienced these emotions. I'm sure you can merge both your magic and your curse together." She paused.

"Right now, your curse have just made its first stage in combining with your magic which was possible enough to fully sync together. With this, you will have no problem in releasing the curse without losing control and that you could use it to your advantage as well in order to win other opponents."

"Why are you telling me this? Even if it was successful, I can't return to Fairy Tail! Zeref already made his move and it cost me. I don't want anyone to be involved in this problem of mine anymore." He reasoned.

"We were created to destroy him. I don't know what would happen once that's done but if you want to become free of this curse, you must defeat him. It will probably also help you get back to your home, you know." She guessed.

On the other hand, Natsu had a different realization on what she just said.

"Hey, Sayla?"

"Yes?"

"I know it may sound a bit weird but what will you do once we managed to destroy Zeref. I mean, you said so yourself that we're created to destroy him. What are you going to do after that's done?"

"That's... something that I would like to think about when that time comes." She replied with a frown which he noticed it.

"You don't want to return back with me?" He replied which somehow made her blush due to his choice of words.

"N-No! I–I mean, yes– I don't know. I just don't picture myself living with you together with your friends after all what I've done to them." She reasoned.

"That doesn't mean that you shouldn't come back with me. If things don't end that way, I'll find another way. You know, I can't leave you out just like that after all we've been through." He smiled.

"Natsu..." Her words trailed off for a moment as she stared at him momentarily until a blush went through her cheeks in the process.

That's right. It's been like this ever since from the start. He is the kind of person who would never leave anyone behind no matter how distant they are to him. That kind of personality he had in him is something that made her feel attached to him. She couldn't explain it but his very nature is what makes her do the things she wanted to do with him, no matter how silly or small it is to him.

He accepts her as a person not a demon or an abomination of one of the demons in the books of Zeref.

"I-In any case, we should do it." She immediately changed the subject.

"Are you really sure about this?" He asked doubtfully.

"I'm an archivist. I know all about the nature of the demons, except for you that is." She explained.

"What do you mean by that?"

"This is exactly your first time to be awakened as an Etherious so I had little knowledge about it. But seeing that you're an Etherious like me, our nature works almost similarly."

On the other hand, she also noticed some of the markings that appeared on the dragonslayer's body a few days back began to grow without even tapping into its power. Italerted her but decided to keep it to herself in order to prevent him from worrying.

"Right now, your curse is probably being held back again since you don't experience any pain for the last few weeks but that doesn't mean you're entirely safe. It will keep coming back and try to merge again with your body and magic which will cause you pain," She paused.

"So we'll try a method to bypass that procedure and get your curse to adapt to your body and also to your magic."

Natsu scratched his head in uncertainty.

"Is this even necessary? I mean, I'm fine on what I am now. What if something happened to me and I ended up hurting someone?"

"You'll be fine. You will not hurt anybody. This method will assure you that you won't harm any person or human."

It took only a few moments for him to decide as he looked at his hands for a moment, fearing about tampering with his hidden power once again. From what he could remember, he did obliterate someone with this kind of power easily. He didn't feel proud of it.

It was more like having a sense of fear towards the power itself since he knew how much power can be capable of destroying someone.

Looking back at her, Natsu could only close his eyes for a moment before finally releasing a sigh, signifying his approval towards the situation.

"Fine, we'll do it your way." Sayla smiled at his reply which in turn also made him smile lightly in response.

* * *

Eventually, the two started on their journey far off from their camp and into an isolated field. Silence occupies much of the atmosphere around them except for the crickets that are heard around the bushes.

Night is approaching to midnight and there are no travelers seen around them which makes the place a perfect spot to start the procedure.

Sayla straddled off a few meters away to scan the ground around them to see if there's a place she can draw upon to perform her curse. Looking at her vicinity, she was currently standing on soft grass enough for her ritual.

"Then we should start now," She spoke.

"Eh? Right now?"

"Of course, it's more convenient to do it here than in daylight or anywhere near a town. Won't this also lessen our chances of being found out?" She supported her claim which somehow got the pinkette to agree.

"I guess so. Anyways, what kind of method are we going to do?" He asked in curiosity.

"Simple," She paused as she used her Macro to grab a nearby stick and began drawing some intricate circles; different from the magic symbols that Natsu sees everyday.

He could've guessed that those drawings were part of a curse that Sayla has in her sleeves aside from her Macro. Seeing that she knew almost all of the methods and knowledge about the Etherious, it seems like her claim as an archivist was no joke.

Even so, he was amazed by her skills and talents. No wonder why she was considered to be one of the top demons in the Nine Demon Gates.

It didn't take them long enough to finish as Sayla finished her drawing circle, covering half the field. It was large enough to fit inside a building inside.

"First, let's start with the positioning. You should go over to the center of the circle since that's where the ritual will commence," She proposed. He nodded in response and went over to the center.

Sayla followed soon after but not before she stopped just a few meters away from him as she looked at him for a moment to ask.

"Are you ready?"

"I haven't tried anything like this before. Will I get hurt by any of this?" His voice held doubt.

"I will only send you into your subconscious. The process will start once the user is put to unconsciousness and will eventually return back once it's complete. You won't feel any pain from the ritual. Just some unpleasant things." She replied.

"What kind of unpleasant things?"

"Well, that's for you to see once you delve into your subconscious. I'm just worried that this might make you feel a bit uncomfortable once this starts so…" She trailed off in thought as Natsu saw through her worried look.

Placing a reassuring pat on her head, Natsu smiled.

"Don't worry, whatever comes in my way, I'll promise to overcome it. I'll always come back after that so wait for me until then, alright?" His words soothed her heart almost instantly as she felt warm inside before returning the same smile towards him.

"Well then, let's get started."

With the two of them standing in front of each other, Sayla began her chant. She began to murmur incoherent words as the field around them began to fill with dark purple mist. It kinda unsettled Natsu as the ritual continued.

Moments later, the drawing beneath him began to glow red as the spell had started.

Looking back at the demon girl, she lifted her face slowly to him as her body began to fill with power.

"It's time."

After hearing her words, Natsu suddenly felt his consciousness fading away from him as darkness filled his vision and eventually delved deep into his subconscious, leaving him deprived of his control to his body.

He felt nothing as he dived into the dark abyss waiting for the ritual to start. He was still unsure of the unpleasant things that she mentioned to him earlier but he'll have to face it soon.

On the outside, Sayla watched as Natsu's body began to glow in dark red as flames sprouted out from his body and began to light up the place around them. The intensity of the heat was too much that she had to back away for a bit before looking back at the unconscious pinkette.

The ritual works on about having the person to delve into his subconscious and face his inner fears. At the same time, she also had to deal with a completely uncontrolled Etherious since the curse still doesn't merge into him completely.

Basically, she'll have to contain him until he manages to finish up his matters inside his mind in order for this to be over. Facing against the most powerful Etherious is quite suicidal. She knew what E.N.D. is capable of since she also studied about him.

This will be the first time the strongest Etherious will be awakened completely.

Transforming herself into her own Etherious Form, Sayla frowned at the thought of lying earlier. She hated lying, especially to him after what they have been through but if she revealed this part of the process, he would not agree to it and he would eventual lose control of his powers in the future.

"Forgive me, Natsu… But I'll promise to live on for your sake. In return, you also have to promise that you'll come back for me." She spoke as Natsu simply let out a menacing growl as scales formed up around his arms with his eyes becoming more predatorial and redder as flames began to expand.

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile... In Natsu's subconscious..._**

Natsu felt like he had been floating around the darkness for quite some time. Ever sincedelving into his inner thoughts, he's being dragged somewhere he didn't know.

"How long am I gonna keep doing this?" He muttered into himself as he continued to fly towards the endless dark world before him.

Moments later, he began to see a small light in front of him. It grew bigger as he got closer to it. It only took a few seconds until he managed to find himself in front of a ball of light.

 _'What the hell is this thing?'_

He tried reaching to it slowly with his hand but before he could even touch it, the light snuffed out almost instantly, bringing in the darkness around him once again.

However, it was not long until an ominous voice began to appear right before him.

 **"It seems like we've finally meet."** The tone of the voice was full of malevolence and Natsu didn't waste any second to raise his guard and focused on his surroundings.

"Who are you?" He demanded but the voice simply chuckled.

 **"It's so surreal to see that you don't know me. If this turns out to be the real you who controls me, I would've stomp on you and take over your body myself."**

"Take over me? What are you getting at? Show yourself!" Natsu shouted.

He was expecting another reply but the black world around him began to distort but not long before he found himself falling into the dark abyss below him. His vision momentarily faded as he fell. Soon afterwards, his vision returned but he mysteriously found himself in a land filled with fire and destruction.

The place was full of death as he seen an enormous amount of burnt bodies. It shocked him and he looks away, feeling horrified by what he saw.

"J-Just where the hell am I?"

 **"You're in my domain… Or at least, in a place where you and I should be."** The same voice resounded once more as Natsu heard it from behind, prompting him to glance around. A mysterious figure was coming towards him.

The flames made it hard for him to see clearly until his eyes widened in shock after recognizing the person right before him. The same scaly scarf and the horn that is seen visible from his head though only longer and more intimidating. His eyes were pure red and his canines were visibly seen through his mouth as if he was some sort of a predator.

He also had the very same spiky pink-hair before he started to grin wide in a wicked way after seeing the shocked look on his face.

 **"It's been awhile."**

"W-Who-"

 **"I am you. Or perhaps you could just call me, E.N.D."**

"END?" Now Natsu felt really confused at the lookalike before him.

 **"That's right… I'm actually grateful that you finally came to me. It was so irritating to see how you tried to struggle fighting against me and all the while rejecting me every time. Well, I guess that doesn't matter anymore."** Another wicked smirk went on his lips once more as Natsu turned to ask in confusion.

"What are you talking about?"

Without warning, Natsu felt a wave of pain coming from his abdomen as END instantly punched him fiercely, causing him to fly away and crashed into a pile of debris as his evil counterpart stood there with an emotionless expression on his face.

Soon afterwards, Natsu emerged from the crash as he struggled on his knees but not long before he spurted out some blood from his mouth before looking back at him in surprise.

He clearly didn't expect him to be fast like this. He didn't even have the time to prepare for his attack. Coughing roughly from his lungs, END looked at the pinkette with a glare.

 **"If I kill you here, I would be finally free. You're the only one that stands in my way of awakening."**

"I don't know what you're planning to do but, I won't just let that happen." Natsu retorted as he began to raise his fists towards him as flames gathered around him once again.

 **"Heh… Did you actually think that you can beat me with those puny flames? To become the strongest Etherious, one should know better about who has more power than the other."** He boasted as red flames began to coat around him in the same manner as Natsu though being hotter and stronger than his original dragon flames.

Yet despite all that, Natsu could only smirk in response to his opponent's power as he uttered his very own trademark.

"I'm all fired up!"

In just a split second, Natsu and END clashed against each other as the two collided their fists before generating a huge explosion around their vicinity as both sides were simply thrown away from the huge blast.

END recovered just in time before dashing straight in mid-air towards Natsu who was taken by surprise as he delivered a right hook to his face, sending him away before dashing straight towards him again.

 **"A weakling like you should not deserve to hold this kind of power! A person who is afraid of this power is nothing more but an insect to be trampled upon!"** END spat as he kicked the dragonslayer to the chest that sent him away once more.

"Shut up!"

Fortunately, Natsu recovered his position as he simply tapped into his magic before chanting his magic against him.

 **"Fire Dragon's Roar!"** Natsu simply released a torrent flames towards the standing figure who remained calm as it approached him in a matter of seconds before slowly lifting his right hand and started to chant as well.

 **"Flame Demon's Sundered Hell!"** And in just like that, a burst of red dark flames formed into a shape of a long blade and easily cut through the flames like it was a paper, shocking Natsu in the process.

At the same time, the red flames went through Natsu's left cheek as he barely dodged it before blood began to streak down his face.

END smirked in response before dissipating his flames and looked at the dragonslayer.

 **"For someone like you who possesses great mastery over the element of destruction, I have to say I'm disappointed in you. Trained under the teachings of a dragon, you still lacked conviction to use your power to its full potential."**

"What are you talking about?" Natsu asked.

 **"Heh! You might not understand what I'm saying. You're a person who relies on the feelings of human emotions; it's completely unnecessary to the Etherious like us."** END sighed.

"Nobody had the authority of discarding these emotions despite whether you are an Etherious." Natsu spat.

 **"Authority? That's not the case there, Natsu. Etherious don't need such emotions. The only thing that makes us stronger is instilling fear and despair on all living beings in this world. It is why I created the curse in the first place."**

"Well let's see if that curse has anything to say to my magic!"

Natsu moved into his battle stance as lightning began to form around his body together with his dragon flames as he entered into one of his strongest forms.

 **"Lightning Flame Dragon Mode!"**

END smiled evilly as he saw the destruction caused by the pinkette's new form before he also made his battle stance and brought out his cursed flames to fight against him.

 **"Interesting! Interesting! Interesting! It seems like you're not bad at all. Come, dragonslayer of Igneel."** END taunted as he faced Natsu in front of him but not long they both disappeared into a silver blur as their powers enhanced their speed and eventually met at the center with both fists clashing each other that soon brought up upon another powerful explosion around them.

Dust and rubble flew violently away from the vicinity as the two flew away from the dust cloud to meet up in the air before Natsu readied his fist and aimed it towards the other pinkette.

 **"Lightning Flame Dragon's Firing Hammer!"**

 **"Flame Demon's Cleaving Fist!"**

Both attacks collided as the force of their spells blew each other away as they both tried to stand on their ground.

"I'm not done yet!" Shouting valiantly, Natsu mustered his strength to overcome the gale and met up with END before clasping his hands together above him before a massive fireball encased in lightning formed at his hands.

 **"Lightning Flame Dragon's Brilliant Flame!"** Swiping his hands down towards the demon, Natsu sent in a massive blast before being followed by a series of lightning strikes.

The dragonslayer leapt away from the vicinity to wait for the blast to dissipate. A moment of silence filled the air as the rumbling sounds of debris falling was heard around him.

It was not long until END emerged from the blast with his clothes fully tattered but only sustaining little scratches from that powerful attack just now which kinda surprised Natsu.

The demon dusted off his tattered clothes before taking a bit of a stretch on his neck.

 **"I never really thought that power could match against my power. However, it is not enough to obliterate me completely."** He smirked which only made him to grit his teeth in frustration.

"Shut your mouth! This fight is just getting started."

 **"I wonder about that."**

Swiping his hands fast in front of him, END made a series of magical symbols as he began to chant his own spell once more.

 **"Infernal Demon's Cursed Flame."** A large surge of red flames went on its way towards the pinkette who could only smirk in response.

"You totally underestimated me, END. I'm immune to fire and I can power myself up to any flame I eat."

But before he could even move and eat it, Natsu felt the heat of the flames hurting him as he was left screaming in pain after being engulfed in the sea of flames and staggered in the near debris before looking in shock towards his evil self.

"W-What the hell?!"

 **"You should remember, dragon flames and cursed flames are two different things. Dragon flames cannot mix together with a flame that is created in the nature of a curse."**

"L-Like Godslaying magic?" He stuttered in surprise.

 **"While it's true that you can eat any flames but the power of the curse is the epitome of corruption. No sane person would dare to swallow a curse. It's the complete opposite of magic and that the curse represents the negative emotions of one's heart that only made it stronger,"** He paused before pointing a finger at his heart.

 **"And since you carry a good will in you, taking in my flames is like taking the very evil into yourself. Your heart is filled with negative emotions where my curse could feed on its power and overwhelm your magic. You have doubts, fears and a looming despair."**

"I don't give a damn about that curse of yours. I'll defeat you here, END." Natsu declared.

Flaring up again in his Lightning Flame Dragon Mode, Natsu tried to charge towards End in blinding speeds as his figure immediately disappeared into a flash and instantly appeared right in front of the composed demon.

 **"Lightning Flame Dragon's Flashing Fist!"** With that shout, Natsu nailed his fist right towards END before both of them were engulfed into another massive explosion once more.

* * *

 ** _On the outside world..._**

A large part of the forest simply went ablaze as Sayla narrowly dodged a fire beam that was shot out from Natsu's mouth, resulting a massive conflagration which also lights up their position due to the destruction around them. Apparently, Sayla had to hold out as much as she could in order for the process to continue further. However, the full completion of the ritual rests on Natsu himself if he was able to deal with his curse.

So far, the battle was pretty much one-sided since she already sustained injuries and burns from the pinkette despite in her own Etherious Form. She never thought that E.N.D. would be this strong without the control of Natsu himself. It made sense why he was having a hard time suppressing it for a long time.

Panting slightly to catch her breath, she had to move quickly as she saw the flaming pinkette in front of her beginning his attack on her.

Lifting both her hands right in front of her, Sayla began to chant as her hands simply let out a massive beam towards the pinkette in just a matter of seconds before resulting into a powerful explosion afterwards.

She waited as the blast subsided and could only grit her teeth in frustration after seeing him unscathed from her attack just now.

"You're one tough opponent. As much I don't want to hurt my master, I have to do it in order to help him acknowledge his powers once and for all!" She declared while Natsu simply let out a snarl towards her before dashing straight at him in blinding speeds.

Sayla narrowed her eyes as she used her Macro to pull the dragonslayer's body down to the ground, causing him to tumble a few meters away from him but he recovered just in time before dashing straight towards her again.

The demon girl jumped out of the way as Natsu slammed his flame-coated fists to the ground, causing a large smokescreen around them she landed on a safe spot.

Raising both her hands above her in an open fashion, Sayla chanted once more as a series of kanji-writings began to form in circles before glowing in bright light.

 **"Dark Malevolence!"**

In an instant, the magical circle around her spun fast before generating a dark beam towards the dust. Sayla didn't hesitate to shoot it as the beam shot in seemingly fast speeds and exploded towards the area where the pinkette was last seen, generating another explosion.

She waited for the dust settle as she floated in mid-air, raising her guard.

It took only a few seconds as her eyes widen in shock as she noticed his presence above her. Looking up through the night sky, she saw him clasping his hands together before forming a massive dark red fireball that is large enough to even level an entire town in one shot.

Sayla widen her eyes in alarm as the looming shadow above her began to close down as Natsu swiped his hands down on her which forced to use her Macro in the process.

Gathering chunks of trees and debris from the earth to form a huge ball as large as the fireball above her, Sayla mustered all her strength to lift them all up in order counter it.

"I won't let you!" She shouted as the two giant spheres smashed into each other, creating powerful gales that blew back everything. Even the other trees weren't spared from the blast.

Sayla gritted her teeth in frustration as she was being overpowered by the pinkette and could only hold out in a few seconds before the fireball could make its way towards her.

And in just an instant, a massive explosion followed afterwards, stretching as far within a couple of kilometers, leveling the entire field with powerful tremors and destruction.

The sound of the blast were also as loud, being heard from distant towns in the process.

It took only a few minutes for the explosion to subside as the aftermath of the struggle resulted a wide-area destruction. The green field was burned and the ground was completely shattered as multiple large cracks can be seen from all places.

Fires and burning trees are seen everywhere as life seemed to be nowhere in sight.

Sayla emerged from the rubble after the explosion with a series of injuries and burns all over her body. Blood began to streak down from her head as she sustained way more damage than she thought after that power struggle.

She reverted back to normal as her Etherious Form vanished due to the power she used in that last attack.

Looking at the devastated field around her, she began to realize the power that Natsu currently wields as the strongest Etherious. If she hadn't stopped that fireball, then the destruction would've been graver than this.

She staggered away from the rubble, hoping to recompose herself until Natsu descended down from the ground, causing a slight tremor around him. She glanced back towards him who seemed to be full in strength despite that usage of power he just used on their last attack.

She was starting to feel hopeless to fight since her body was reaching its limit. However, she must not stop here. She had to delay him a bit more until Natsu manages to come to terms within himself.

That's the only thing that would end their battle once and for all.

Donning back to her Etherious Form, Sayla tried for one last time to confront against him.

"Hurry up, Natsu. I can't hold out much longer."

* * *

 _**Back at Natsu's subconscious…**_

Natsu tumbled away throughout the field as he received another powerful kick to the gut while finding himself at the mercy of his evil counterpart.

 **"What's wrong? What happened to that confidence you were showing before. Show me more of that power of yours. I really like a little entertainment, you know."** END laughed comfortably as he dashed right towards the pinkette once more before blowing him away with his flame-coated palm strike in his chest.

The pinkette crashed once again to the ground before coughing out blood from his mouth as he struggled to stand up due to the punches he received from him.

Despite him at his full power, END manages to overpower him in just a few minutes with ease. He was feeling powerless to fight someone like him in his current state. Although, he did get some hits on him, he easily recovered from it like it was nothing.

What's more is that, he's using his curse powers without any limitations except for him who still gets tired after a very long fight.

 **"Are you just gonna let it end here, Natsu? I thought you said you were going to defeat me. At this rate, I might just kill you by accident."** END smirked evilly as he sent another flame spell, engulfing him into another massive explosion as Natsu fell down on his knees with heavy injuries all over his body.

He panted in exhaustion as he looked at him with blood-shot eyes.

 **"Hmm? It seems like you're still standing, huh? Well, that's a new one Tell me, why do you fight me? It would've been easy if we just join together as one yet you still deny your true nature and cling into that false life you are living in."** He asked.

Spitting a streak of blood from his mouth, Natsu spoke with hostility.

"Isn't it obvious? I don't recognize you as my true self. I will not fall to someone like you!" He shouted.

END sighed.

 **"Is that it? I was hoping a bit longer answer from you but I suppose that one meaningless reason is the only thing that keeps you from accepting your true self. It's a pity indeed. Zeref would've been disappointed in you."** He launched another flame ball towards him in which he barely dodged in the process before stumbling back to the ground due to his injuries.

"I don't care what that Black Mage is trying to say to me! I'm not obeying some person who is from the past. I follow whatever I want to do!"

 **"You're mistaken, Natsu. It is our will to return back to him and fulfill his wish. In the near future, it would be us who will carry out this task in finally destroying him once and for all. But unfortunately, only one of us will meet him in his final days. And the other will simply die and vanish from existence,"** He paused before looking back at the pinkette with vicious eyes.

 **"And the one who will perish is you!"**

He shot another wave of flames towards the pinkette who only raised his hands in defense before being blown back from it and crashed into another pile of debris around him.

"A-And what makes you think that you're so true about that?"

 **"Depends on what you are now. You're a weakling to fight against him. Too weak to be spared twice from Acnologia's wrath and too weak to even protect your dying father!"**

"Igneel fought on what was right and he fought to prevent you from awakening!" He glared in anger.

 **"And yet he still failed. In his last breath, he failed to accomplish his mission in killing Acnologia. Igneel is doomed from the start, he was not the one who can destroy him in his current state. In other words, he died in vain!"** It only took him enough for Natsu to grit his teeth in anger after hearing enough against his father.

"You don't have the mouth to say anything against him! Who are you to downgrade him who fought to the very end like any other great dragon would do?!" Natsu shouted in pure rage. His fists clenching tighter before flames started to pour out once more.

END could only smirk at this. He finally saw through his weakness.

 **"Say, I see that you're accompanying one of my demons in your travels. Sayla was it?"** He asked but Natsu never spoke back as he gazed at him with pure anger.

 **"I'd say she would make a perfect slave for me once I kill you here and take over your body. I wonder what kind of impression she would make after I break her will and make it mine! Haha-"**

END never finished his statement as he felt a striking pain on his stomach as he saw Natsu instantly punching him away in the vicinity, shocking him in the process.

 **"W-What the-"**

He stopped speaking once more as he saw the flames becoming brighter and more intense than it was before he saw the vague image of an enraged dragon behind the pinkette as red orbs glowed in his eyes before engulfing flames to power up for a roar towards him.

 **"Fire Dragon King's Roar!"**

And in just a matter of seconds, END was simply taken by surprise before a huge surge of flames wiped the whole field around him, blasting the whole ground in a couple of kilometers away with a powerful tremor that followed afterwards.

Minutes later, the roar simmer down, revealing a large torn field around them. END only shielded himself with his hands but resulting multiple burns from his body with his clothes also tattered due to the intense heat of the roar itself.

His expression turned into shock as he looked at the pinkette in front of him who could only look at him in an expression drowned in pure hate and anger.

"I'LL KILL YOU!"

* * *

 **A/N: And stop! That's the wrap for the chapter. I hope you like it.**

 **This was a combined inspiration to the scene in Bleach and also from the story of NeoShadows, "The Story of the Dragon, the Knight and the Fairy Hunter, in which I had my own different change in this with a different pairing. Kudos to his idea and also read his story too since he was one of the writers that drew me into writing.**

 **And so, I also showed the evilness of END in this fic. Sorry for making him too much villainous but he's END ffs. What do you expect from that?**

 **Well, Natsu will have to try and deal with him in the next chapter which will be also the last chapter before we finally can go to the one-year time-skip.**

 **As always, leave a comment and tell me what you think of the story so far. It would help me a lot. And thanks for the support guys! I really appreciate it.**

 **See ya on the next chapter.**

 **\- wiErD SpeCtrumz blacking out… … …**


	8. Burned From Memory

**A/N: Sup guys, wiErD here and I've got another chapter for you all.**

 **Hope ya like it!**

 **As announced from the last chapter. The acceptance of Natsu and his curse will be featured here… something like that.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for my plots. Everything else is owned by Hiro Mashima. Support the official release.**

* * *

 **\- Burned From Memory –**

END smirked underneath his breath as he noticed the sudden change of Natsu's power. Scales began to form around his arms, prompting his use of the Dragon Force together with the new form he just recently gained.

The field around them began to shake tremendously as flames whirled violently from all place, showing its destructive force towards the demon.

 **"** **So, you've finally decided to change yourself. This is interesting."** He remarked as he saw the intense flames grow ever larger than before, surrounding the two of them in a huge field of fire. A flame-like marking soon began to emerge from the dragonslayer's right arm, catching END's attention.

"Hmm. It looks like you still have something in your sleeves. Well, I hope you do entertain me a bit more."

Natsu simply ignored his statements as he clenched his fists tightly as the scales around his face and arms crawled all the way to his body. His eyes turned red, replacing his black onyx orbs. His nails began to sharpen like a claw and his canines fully visible from the outside as he let out a menacing growl before looking back at END.

 **"** **How funny… To think that we both destined to be monsters and to see you becoming one is something very unlikely. After all, you would never go the path of taking a life."**

"YOU SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH!" Natsu growled in anger towards him as he slowly placed his hands down to the ground, assuming a four feet position before taking one last glance towards his evil counterpart.

In just a flash, Natsu disappeared into a crimson blur, completely taking END by surprise as he felt a powerful punch right to his face that sent him crashing away into a pile of burning debris.

Gales and shockwaves kicked up through the air as the ground shook violently around the crash. Natsu landed on his feet with flames surrounding his form while waiting for the demon to emerge.

A huge gale boomed from the crash as END jumped away from the vicinity and met the dragonslayer but not long before he took a brief look on his current state as he got a slight burnt scratch in his left cheek. His clothes weren't also spared from the attack, seeing it slightly burnt and scratched from the attack.

 **"** **Heh- I never thought that you would possess such speed. I guess I underestimated you too much, Natsu."** END smirked before summoning his demonic flames around him as he faced him with wicked expression.

 **"** **If that's your true power, I should also take this seriously if I ever wanted to be break free from this prison."**

"You're not going anywhere, END! I'll make sure to beat you up until you can't speak from that mouth of yours!" He growled.

 **"** **Hmph- I guess there's no need for me to waste my time on you. Prepare to die, dragonslayer!"**

Both sides readied themselves against each other as they took their last glances on their opponents before suddenly disappearing into a crimson blur, only to meet another huge shockwave that shook the entire field around them as they continued their fight through the sky.

Two trails of flames collided with each other with great intensity as it created powerful burst of energy with each collision.

END manages to hit the dragonslayer with his knee, sending him back only for a moment as Natsu easily recovered from the blow and immediately went in for the headbutt, causing the demon to grit his teeth in pain as he plunged down to the ground.

A huge cloud of debris kicked through the air as END crashed below. Natsu waited for a moment until his eyes widened in surprise as large wave of fire erupted from the smoke, missing him only just a few meters before exploding on the far distance.

Soon afterwards, END leaped to the air once more before placing both his hands right up front in an open-palm fashion.

 **"** **Flame Demon's Inferno!"** A large torrent of demonic flames made its way towards Natsu as he began to use his own spell to counter against it.

 **"** **Fire Dragon King's Raging Flame!"** Amassing a giant fireball in his right hand, Natsu launched his spell towards the flame, causing a power struggle between both sides as both spells tried to overpower the other.

Dust and rubble flew violently as the spells continued to ravage the entire field around until it resulted into a massive explosion of flames that sent both fighters away due to its power.

Soon afterwards, the explosion simmered down, revealing a wide scorching land as Natsu slowly emerged from one of the debris with injuries all over his body before staggering away from the vicinity.

At the same time, END also emerged from the other side with the same condition. Both of them sustained heavy injuries as they all looked towards each other momentarily.

 **"** **I gotta say, you really are something. To think that you won't hesitate to use the full extent of your powers against me. A power like that would've killed anybody."** He mused before spitting out a small patch of blood from his mouth as he looked at the dragonslayer with anticipation.

"S-Shut up! I'll do whatever it takes to take you down!" Natsu spat.

 **"** **Hmph- Do you honestly think that power yours could defeat me? My power grows stronger as your anger grow deeper towards mine. No matter what kind of power you hold, you cannot win against me!"** He threatened but Natsu could only smirk underneath his breath.

"Keep talking!"

 **"** **Fire Dragon King's Whirling Hellfire!"** Without giving him time to react, Natsu spun his arms before a massive torrent of flame jut from the ground and tried to make its way towards END.

 **"** **Flame Demon's Underworld Behemoth!"** END punched his right fist down to the ground, cracking it open as huge flame-coated creature emerged from below and simply swallowed the flames, catching the dragonslayer by surprise.

"What the hell is that?!"

 **"** **Heh. This is the power of the Etherious. With this, I will defeat both Zeref and Acnologia altogether with my own hands. The only one who's getting the way is you! You will die here and I will reclaim my rightful place!"** He paused before looking towards the flame creature.

 **"** **Kill him!"**

Gesturing his finger towards the pinkette, the flame monster tried to lung itself towards him with its massive weight. Natsu remained unmoving as his pink locks shadowed his expression.

After a few moments, he suddenly leaped towards the monster, seemingly trying to meet its attack head-on.

 **"** **Fool. This creature is an embodiment of despair and destruction. Your reckless attacks will have no effect on it!"** He smirked.

"I wonder about that…" Natsu whispered as he balled up his right fist before a whirl of flames surrounded his arm, turning it into a massive hellfire as Natsu met the monster on its head before thrusting down his fist towards it.

 **"** **Fire Dragon King's Demolition Fist!"**

In just an instant, the monster was simply obliterated to smithereens as the punch pierced through its head and reached far down to its feet, causing it to explode powerful enough to engulf the entire beast.

END simply stood in shock as his creature was easily destroyed in an instant before his eyes. He never really expected that he could possess such power that could easily bring down his powerful beast in just one attack.

 **"** **I-Impossible!"**

He was given the time to speak as Natsu dashed straight towards him in fast speeds.

Raising both his fists, END met up with his fist. Large gales kicked up around them as Natsu pushed him back despite the block against his attacks. The demon could only grit his teeth in frustration as he found himself struggling against the dragonslayer.

 **"** **N-No! I won't lose here! I won't let you waste my years of preparation against Acnologia! A weakling like you should never understand it!"** END pushed him back with a kick before amassing a giant fireball above him and sent it towards the pinkette, engulfing him completely into an explosion.

Soon afterwards, the explosion settled, revealing a wounded dragonslayer as he had his hands raised before him to shield himself from the explosion.

"You will never take my body!" He shouted in defiance.

Natsu and END continued their relentless assault against each other as the battle between them rages on.

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile back at the real world…_**

Sayla continues to struggle on her fight against the uncontrolled dragonslayer as she found herself wincing in pain from the burns she sustained from his attacks. The fight between was beginning to turn sour in favor of the dragonslayer as he received no such damage from all of her attacks.

As expected from the strongest Etherious, he can't be defeated by curses. He can easily melt away both magic and curses with his demonic flames which poses as a great advantage for him against all types of opponents.

Not to mention, the reserves of his power is still abundant despite fighting for a long time.

Sayla simply ignored the pain all over her body and stood up to face the demon once again with a determined look.

She can't don to her Etherious Form anymore since she wasted all of her power just to hold up to this point.

The only thing that's left is Natsu.

The main part of the ritual is having one person accept his inner self and control the power from the inside. If Natsu is still in the middle of his own inner turmoil, it will be bad for her in this situation.

Nevertheless, she will try to hold on. Giving up is something that he won't come to accept even to himself or to her. If he's still trying to hold on, she'll have to try her best to hold out as well.

With a renewed gaze, she faced the demon once more as she glowed in dark power before pointing her hands towards him.

 **"** **Demonic Energy Blast!"** Kanji-writings formed in a circular fashion around her hands before releasing two powerful dark energy beams towards him in fast speeds.

The ground tore apart as the beams went across the battlefield which only prompted the uncontrolled Etherious to raise his right arm before a large dome of fire erupted infront of him, meeting her attacks head-on.

A huge explosion resulted as their attacks collided with each other, creating another large smokescreen, prompting Sayla to shield her eyes from the incoming gale.

Her eyes widened in shock as she noticed Natsu immediately appearing right behind her with a flame-coated fist aimed towards her.

She leaped away as the punch missed her in just a few inches before slamming down to the ground, resulting a tremor as she backed away a few meters.

Judging the destruction, the force of the punch might be enough to easily disable her in an instant if she was not careful.

 _'_ _At this rate, I'm never going to survive longer than this. I need to find some way to keep him occupied.'_ She thought.

Noticing his figure towards her, Sayla leaped away once more as she evaded another fist. Skidding a few meters from the pinkette, her eyes soon traced back to the smoke before a large wave of fire was shot towards her, prompting her to dodge at the side before resulting a huge explosion in the distance.

She looked at the pinkette momentarily as she saw his horns becoming sharper and his canines becoming visible like a real demon.

Dark crimson flames surrounded his body as a menacing growl escaped from his lips with his eyes dyed in crimson red.

Sayla narrowed her eyes towards him before placing both her hands back to the ground.

A huge magic circle appeared below her as they glow in bright purple.

"You need to wake up, Natsu!" She shouted as she placed small gestures on her hand before the circle went towards Natsu and engulfed him in a bright pillar of light.

A light scream was heard as the attack went through Natsu, slightly damaging him in the process as the spell continued to push him down.

However, the dragonslayer simply opened his mouth and let out a fierce burst of demonic fire towards Sayla, catching her by surprise at its tremendous power.

She was left with no choice but to raise her arms in defense and took the wave head-on, causing her to scream in pain as the fires burn through her body.

The roar simmered down revealing a downed Sayla as she sustained burns all over her body. She lost all her strength to fight due to her injuries and could only move her head as blood slowly streaked down to her head after taking the hit.

She flinched in pain and tried to get back on her knees until a hand grabbed her neck and pushed her back to the ground as her eyes traced towards the smirking dragonslayer right in front of her.

A rather menacing growl escaped from his lips as he looked down on her with bloodlust.

Sayla could only grit her teeth as she tried breaking away from his hold but was powerless to do so.

Tears seemed to have flowed right down from her eyes as she began to lose hope in this battle. At this rate, she'll be killed by him.

 _'_ _W-Where are you, Natsu? I can't hold out much longer.'_

* * *

 ** _Back at Natsu's subconscious…_**

The fight between the two continues to ravage the landscape as Natsu and END relentlessly battled each other to the death. Exchanging devastating blows that would easily disable any mage, both of them showed enough strength to withstand each other's attacks without showing any signs of pain from each hit.

Natsu had his body covered in burns and bruises as he panted heavily while also standing in the fair distance from END who was also in the same state as him.

Both stopped briefly as they tried scanning each other once more.

 **"** **You're really tough, I'll give you that."** END mused at his strength with a sarcastic tone.

"S-Shut the hell up! I will not stop here until I beat you down, END!" Natsu retorted as he looked towards him with cold stone eyes while also catching his breath to recover some of his power.

 **"** **Heh- let's see about that."**

"You just watch! I'll show what a real dragonslayer is like!" He fiercely declared as he tried lifting up his right arm once more to activate his new form against him.

On the other hand, END smirked underneath his breath which also caught the pinkette's attention and stopped his attacking towards him.

 **"** **Then let me tell you something, Natsu. With each passing time, there's always a chance where you go rampant across Fiore."**

"What the hell are you talking about?!" He demanded.

 **"** **Didn't you know? With your consciousness being sent here, your body is left without anything to suppress your curse. As of now, your body is in an uncontrollable state."**

"That's impossible! Sayla said that I won't harm anybody–" His statement was abruptly cut after realizing of what's going on.

From what he remembered back then, Sayla did told him that he won't harm anybody. There's no reason for her to lie to him since both of them agreed on this ritual for the betterment of his usage of powers. And if END is stating of the real condition of his body right now, wouldn't that be–

He stopped as he finally understood of what she meant.

His eyes widen in shock and disbelief, catching END's attention before quirking a brow towards him.

 **"** **Oya? You didn't know? I bet that demon servant doesn't want to reveal this part of the process in order for you to accept this ritual without any worries."** He mocked.

"But that's-"

 **"** **It seems like she's still trying to hold off your current state though I wonder if she can actually hold that for long. After all, she's facing the almost awakened strongest Etherious Zeref had ever created."** He laughed evilly.

Natsu gritted his teeth in anger at his expression. Standing up once more on his feet, he sprinted once more towards him with rage.

"You bastard!"

 **"** **Die, scum!"** END sent another fire wave to push him back. Natsu struggled to break through the wave as he slowly began to lose his footing.

"Not a chance!" With a determined shout, he used every ounce of his strength to dash straight and flared up his fist against him.

 **"** **Fire Dragon King's Meteor Fist!"** Natsu sends a bone-cracking punch towards END's face as he sends him back once more before charging up his roar.

 **"** **Fire Dragon King's Roar!"** In just a brief moment, he let out a massive wave of fire towards the demon.

 **"** **Why don't you just stay dead, will you?!"** END shouted in anger as he made a hand gesture before forming a flame-like blade and swiped the roar into two before exploding in the distance.

But as the smoke was trying to settle, END was taken by surprise as he saw the pinkette dashing towards him with his own final spell.

"I'll end this right now! I'm going back no matter what!"

 **"** **Secret Dragon Slayer Art: Crimson Lotus, Raging Firestorm!"** Charging up flames from both of his hands, Natsu simply let out a shout as he swiped it towards him in point-blank range before a massive stream of fire erupted from it and engulfed the demon.

The wave continued on its direction as it ravaged throughout its path, destroying everything that comes in its way before resulting a nuclear-sized fire explosion in the distance.

A huge trail of burning embers was seen on its aftermath as Natsu panted in exhaustion before realizing the mark on his right arm slowly disappearing, signifying his limit to its usage.

He knelt down on the ground as the sweat traced down on his bloodied face before looking back towards the destroyed path before him.

"I-It's over." He muttered.

All seemed to end well for him until he felt a strange aura coming from the far distance where he directed his final spell towards the supposedly destroyed demon.

 **"** **T-That was some pretty strong spell you got there. T-To think that it would damage me right into this extent."** END coughed in pain as his body suffered intense burns from his body after taking a full hit from the secret move.

The pinkette however, had a rather different reaction as his face showed distraught after seeing him alive.

 _'_ _H-He was still standing even after that?!'_

Before he could even do anything, END instantly appeared beside him and kicked him right into the face, causing his body to tumble throughout the burning field.

 **"** **I guess this is only as far as you can go. No matter what you do, you can never be the same league as me."**

Natsu could only tremble on his body as the form began to take on its toll on him after using it for such a long time.

 **"** **It seems like your body isn't durable enough to use that form for any longer."**

For a moment, END thought about finishing the pinkette at first until he saw him slowly getting back on his feet despite with no magic power left in him. His injuries were way worse than he'd experienced from his other opponents and blood seemed to have streak down from his head and mouth.

The demon could only look in disgust at his current condition.

 **"** **You're still standing up, huh? You really are persistent."** He remarked.

"…ust fight-"

 **"** **Hmm?"**

"I-I must fight… No matter what it takes to win against y-you!" He muttered as he slowly walked towards him with his fists upfront.

 **"** **Hmph. Trash."** END simply backhanded him as his body tumbled away though he slowly trying to get back on his knees to face him once more.

His expression was completely dull and his face bloodied as END walked towards him with an irritated look.

 **"** **You really don't want to give up now, do you?"**

"In order to fulfil the promise I made with her, I will continue to fight." He spat.

 **"** **Very well… Let's see if your resolve can actually hold out for long."** Flicking his fingers, END engulfed the pinkette in demonic flames as Natsu screamed in pain from it.

He knelt on his knees as the flames continue to burn his body and slowly trying to turn him into a cinder.

"Gaaaaah!"

 **"** **It's time for you to die, dragonslayer!"**

As the flames try to consume his very soul, Natsu was hopelessly left to scream in pain as his body suffered from the effects of the demonic flames it has on him.

 _'_ _It hurts- It really fucking hurts! Is this the only thing I can do?'_ He thought.

His vision is starting to fade as he felt his body become numb and his strength waning in a fast rate.

Darkness slowly loomed over to him and his eyes can only see the vague figure of the demon infront of him.

 _'_ _Is this how it all ends?'_

Suddenly, memories of his past life began to show up as he saw the image of himself together with Igneel. One by one, they started to flow through his mind as he witness all of his memories together with his friends, his family from Fairy Tail.

The guild that took him in and loved him like a real family. The memories of his time together with his friends flashed through his mind before finally receding back to the smiling demon girl at his side.

 _'_ _Sayla…'_

He recognized it. The innocent face she was always putting up when she finds something very curious. He saw through it.

Dangerous yet gentle in more ways than she was just by understanding her more.

 _'_ _Natsu.'_

..

..

..

 _'_ _Don't give up!'_

For what it seemed like her voice, his eyes flashed open as his vision returns back. His hope rekindled in her words as he slowly stood back up despite being burned.

END widened his eyes in surprise as he saw him getting back up to his feet but was further shocked as he heard a slurping sound coming from him.

The dark red flames surrounding the pinkette swirled towards his mouth, signifying his intake of the demonic flames once more.

 **"** **Heh! You think you can swallow my flames? I told you before, you're corrupting yourself if you try to eat my flames."** He mocked but Natsu kept going. He continued eating the flames without a second thought despite the pain he was feeling with every gulp.

Negative emotions began to appear right on his mind as he absorbed the power from the demon which only shocked him in the process.

 **"** **I-Impossible! How did you–"**

"If evil was really meant to be my destiny, I'll gladly accept it. I'll be the one who will shoulder all these sins and use every bit of my power to prevent anyone from falling towards it!" Natsu voiced out in determination as both demonic flames and dragon flames began to merge into one.

END was left to stare at the figure before him as the flames coated his form before witnessing a sight that he couldn't put into words.

There stood a being with his right half covered in the appearance of a dragon and his other half simply covered with a dark skin with multiple marking all over it glowing in deep red. His face showing off two features of both dragon and demon. His eyes dyed in deep crimson as he glared towards him.

 **"** **Etherious Fire Dragon King Mode!"**

Slightly sinking his body, Natsu assume to an unusual stance as his arms suddenly blazed in a form of a blade before dashing straight towards END without hesitation.

 **"** **Demonic Fire Dragon King's Raging Cursed Blade!"**

In just an instant, the blade pierced through END's chest as Natsu successfully reached towards him in a very insane speed that even he couldn't follow.

A dark mist flowed out from his chest as END slowly begins to dissipate after taking the blow.

 **"** **Hmph… It seems like I lost."**

Natsu never replied as both of them were left standing right next to each other unmoving.

 **"** **You really have a place worthy of wielding my power although I didn't expect you to take the very evil unto yourself just to defeat me."** He paused.

Silence covered the entire atmosphere between them until END continued.

 **"** **Then I shall leave you a warning, Natsu… Now that you have taken the very essence of your curse, you'll bound to become the very demon that you fought today."**

In just an instant, his body shattered into pieces of dark mists as it slowly rose up through the sky.

 ** _"_** ** _Only one of us will meet him in the future… Remember that."_**

 _.._

 _.._

"I'll never become like you."

The field around him began to darken as his vision started to revert back to his body.

* * *

Sayla widened her eyes in shock as the uncontrolled monster before her started to wail in pain as if something must've preventing him from continuing his onslaught towards her. The monster shouted in pain until a burst of fire surrounded him, revealing a now conscious pinkette with multiple burns all over his body.

The flames around him died down almost immediately and his features returned back to normal as he fell down on his knees in exhaustion.

Natsu breathed heavily as the ritual took a toll on him and gave him a lot of hard time to fight against his evil counterpart though his senses are yet to readjust back to the real world.

"Wha-Where am I?" He muttered as he tried looking around and saw the destroyed forest around him. Judging from the embers remaining on some place, he assumed that he did all this.

It didn't take long for his memories to catch up as the words he remembered from END came back to him about Sayla.

Glancing around his surroundings, his eyes finally traced to the injured demon girl right on his left.

"Sayla!" Without wasting any time, he dashed right to her side and tried to help her.

On the other hand, Sayla lightly smiled after seeing him finally came back to his senses.

"W-Welcome back, master-" She stopped midway as she coughed out blood from her mouth, causing him to worry as he tried bringing out easing her down.

"Don't speak. I'll get you something to patch up. Just don't move." He urged as he tried looking for anything to cover up her wounds and burns from her left arm.

"T-Thank goodness. I-I was afraid that you might lost." She croaked while having tears all over her cheeks.

"You're one to talk! Why didn't you tell about this?! Do you know how much it pains me to see that I hurt you without knowing it! What are you thinking?! Damn it!"

Even he couldn't hold back his own tears as it slowly streak down from his eyes while also trying to mend her wounds.

Sayla could only look in surprise at his expression after realizing of how much he worried about her.

Even though he was trying to scold her, she noticed his caring nature towards her and never hesitated on his actions. Guilt struck her heart in an instant as she closed her eyes before speaking.

"I'm sorry. I-I'm sorry I made you worry, Natsu." She cried with a saddened gaze towards him as Natsu slowly held her close to him.

"What am I going to do if I lose you?! Do you ever think any of that?!" His voice quivered in his cries as the he continued to embrace her tightly close to his body. Never letting her go.

"Forgive me, Natsu." She whispered in which he heard but he only decided to close their distance with each other, wanting to treasure each other's company and relieved to see each other to be alive. There's nothing more to that.

The night simply carried on as the two stayed like that for the whole time. There were no words exchanged between them as they felt each other's warmth from the cold winds of the night.

It was the only thing they wanted. Nothing more.

* * *

 **A/N: And stop. The chapter finally ends here and we'll finally get to a timeskip where they both trained with each other and possibly go to bring down other dark guilds just like Crime Sorciere but way more secretive and elusive.**

 **And here we are, Natsu finally accepted his own curse powers and took it as one of his own together with the new power he got from Igneel. Now I know some would say it was too OP but come on, He got both Igneel's powers and END's curse. Surely, that would be enough to even obliterate anyone who stands in his way or made him pissed at some point.**

 **Well, the discussion of the power scale will be put some other time. For now, we go for the Avatar Arc and possibly, the crossing of paths between him and his friends in the future.**

 **Thanks for reading and also for your patience in this story.**

 **\- wiErD SpeCtrumz blacking out… … …**


	9. X792

**A/N: Sup guys, wiErD here and I've got another chapter for you all.**

 **Hope ya like it!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for my plots. Everything else is owned by Hiro Mashima. Support the official release.**

* * *

 **\- X792 –**

The illuminating light of the moon shone brightly over to the cold world as darkness crept on every corner accompanied by the eerily sounds of the creatures that roam the night. Streets were deemed empty and the majority of the population rested on their homes with a several few who still roam outside to continue their doings.

Lights from the distance reflected upon lakes and ponds, showing off a beautiful scenery around the area. Clear skies are seen from the heavens as multiple stars flicker from the distance with the moon as its main light.

Located in an unknown forest lies a fort, seemingly abandoned in ages as the woodwork are seen to be damaged mostly by weather and erosion. Anyone could've mistaken it to be unmanned but an illusion spell was cast around it to hide its true nature.

Through the spell itself lies a smaller building in its neat structure, unlike the one that is being cast on the outside to fool any travellers along the road. A huge banner which resembles the insignia of a guild is seen on the front of the building.

Several figures patrol around the building as their sentries to alert anything suspicious from the outside. They were all dressed in a cult outfit, carrying embedded magic weapons.

Judging from the dark color of their outfits and the secrecy of their guild's location, one could identify it as a dark guild.

Several high-ranking mages inside the building discuss their matters alongside with their guild master. Argues and debates fill the room as all of them continued on their banters while discussing a certain topic.

"We cannot let ourselves overlook this problem anymore, Master! The reports of the dark guilds being destroyed have grown increasingly high. Other surviving ones are already fearing for their lives!" One of the mages argued.

"Don't be ridiculous! Our guild has the most arsenal next to Avatar. If they dared to attack us, it would also force Avatar to hasten its ritual!" Another mage argued.

"Don't underestimate our enemies! Even we couldn't identify their names and reports shown that they're only two people."

"I suspect it to be Crime Sorciere. They were also trying to dig themselves to know more about Avatar."

"Crime Sorciere is just a vigilante guild. They don't raze guilds down to the ground whenever possible. These two are bent on eradicating all of us!"

"It matters not if they are Crime Sorciere or not, Behemoth will crush anyone who stands in our way. Sooner or later, we will unite with the main force and fulfil Lord Zeref's wish."

"Wouldn't it be better if we inform Avatar about this?" Another one joined in the conversation.

"The main force does not need to be informed. We'll have to deal the situation ourselves. We'll keep everyone on high alert and watch for those two. If they tried to attack, we'll be ready." Another reassured.

"I'm still not okay with this, Master. Why are we still waiting here? We should be preparing the ritual already!"

"That's the Avatar's objective. Our objective is to serve as the main force to protect the ritual once it begins."

"I don't know man, those rumoured two are incredibly dangerous. They've taken down a lot of dark guilds in the last couple of months. They're crazy!"

"Pull yourself together! You cannot call yourself a firm believer of Lord Zeref if you fear anyone else, except him!" The other scolded.

"This discussion is over. Tomorrow morning we will join up with Avatar and prepare ourselves for the ritual." Finally, the guild master spoke his decision. The other mages lightly shook their heads at his response until-

A sudden slam from the door startled everyone in the room as a member rushed in with a panic-stricken look.

"T-They're here! The demons are here!"

A collective of shocks went over to the group as they all gritted their teeth and began to mobilize.

"Ready everyone now! I want those two dead! Prepare yourselves!" The mages scrambled down to the hallway accompanied by a group of armed cultists as they prepared themselves over to the entrance to confront the intruders.

The guild master simply sat on his seat before gazing at the windows with a confident smirk.

"So they've finally come. Demons from the Book of Zeref."

* * *

Outside the guild, all members and cultists moved into a formation as they readied their magic weapons alongside with the other high-ranking mages. Their eyes fell over to a cloaked figure in the far distance away.

The illusion spell was mysterious dispelled and the cultists could only assume that the figure himself easily brought it down with ease despite it being a high-grade spell to cast.

Lights and torches are seen from the hands of another cultist to light up their way as they faced the mysterious person with hostility. Their eyes filled with killing intent as the cloaked figure slowly walked towards them.

"Stop where you are! We already know you're there! We will not hesitate to kill you if you move any further!" One of the mages threatened but the figure continued to walk towards them. Others began to fear its presence as the shadows obscured its figure due to the night. It was as if they were facing darkness itself.

"This will be your last chance, intruder! Stop where you are and show your face or Behemoth will reign down its wrath on you!"

Once again, the figure ignored which prompted them to finally use their weapons to attack the figure.

"Fire!" Soon afterwards, the cultists fired up their weapons simultaneously towards the figure. Energies of different magic were shot out and simply went straight towards it. The mysterious figure stopped in its tracks but not long before a series of words were uttered out from its mouth.

 _"The path towards Zeref is nothing more but a means to an end."_

The magics collided to the figure, resulting a mixture of an elemental explosion as the field around them were destroyed due to its power. At first, the cultists and the mages showed relief and confidence after seemingly eradicated the mysterious figure until-

"L-Look!" One of the cultists pointed over to the destroyed area in fear.

"I-Impossible!"

"H-He's still standing!" Collective forms of shock went over to the whole army as they watched the figure emerged completely unscathed from the attack just now. Fear and despair immediately filled the hearts of the cultists as they watched it glow in a dark aura.

Lifting one of its hands, the figure uttered words once again.

"Sleep."

In just an instant, a majority of the army immediately fell on the ground, leaving only a couple of mages who were able to withstand the spell cast on them just now. Their eyes fell into shock after seeing most of the guild's members were put to sleep.

"Damn you!" One of the mages tried to charge towards the figure until his body froze just a few meters away. It was as if his body was possessed by something or rather by someone. Other looked at the controlled mage with disbelief.

"H-Hey, what are you waiting for?! Kill him!"

"I-I can't move!" The mage tried to struggle his way out of its control as the figure walked close straight to him before speaking once more.

"Your body withstands the curse but your will isn't." Judging from its voice, it was feminine though the shock was still even far enough to notice it as the mage looked fearfully at the cloaked person until she whispered beside his ear.

"Now go and fight your friends."

In just an instant, the mage immediately turned towards his other comrades and began to shoot his weapon towards them deliberately. The others looked at the mage in disbelief after realizing his sudden hostility towards them.

"O-Oi! W-What the hell are you doing?!"

"I-It's not me! I can't-"

Soon afterwards, other remaining mages also began to fight each other as the cloaked figure lifted her hand towards them to do the same. Their bodies were completely controlled by her.

"L-Let us go, witch!"

"W-What kind of magic is this?!" Several mages stuttered in disbelief to such a magic that can control the bodies of the living.

Despite all the confusion among them, the cloaked figure simply walked towards the gate, leading to the huge door in front of the guild. She stopped for a moment before releasing a sigh of relief and slowly unveiled her hood.

Two horns are seen atop of her head and a white band that separates her hair, framing her bangs from below it. Worn on her forehead was an odd looking symbol that is incomprehensible by any language.

Tied around her neck was a scaly scarf that kept her away from the cold. It was wrapped neatly around her leaving the ends on her back as the wind blew past her figure, followed by the grace of her dark hair and the scarf itself.

Her outfit consisted of a beige-colored leopard kimono. The kimono is wrapped around her torso with a thick, black ribbon that ties around her back. On top of all this, she sports a black, high-collared cloak.

Ignoring the confusion happening behind her, she sat on a nearby stone just a few meters with a somewhat carefree attitude as she began to ponder in thought.

"I wonder if he's already done…" Trailing off in thought, she smiled through the night sky, waiting for the other person to be done with his job from the inside.

* * *

Inside the dark guild, several guild members ran away in fear as they tried to escape from an unknown figure. They tried to shoot him down but was only treated with dark red flames that easily incinerated anyone who happens to be close nearby.

Even the walls of the hall couldn't withstand its heat even though it was just small in size. Several rooms exploded in flames as unfortunate cultists were burned alive in its intense heat. The other surviving members only gathered in the large hallway that leads to the door of their guild master.

"Hold steady! No one gets in this room! We will protect out guild master and continue with the ritual!"

All weapons are pointed at the cloaked figure as he made his appearance on the other side of the hall. Debris and scorched bodies surround his figure as he silently walked towards them without stopping.

"Shoot him!"

With a final shout, the remaining members fired their weapons at him but the magic disintegrated just before they could reach him.

"H-He burned it!"

"W-What are you?!"

Instead of answering their weak replies, the man simply raised his hand as a dark red fireball formed around it and simply shot it towards them without hesitation.

"You're in the way." He uttered emotionlessly as the fireball blew everyone away, rendering them disabled as their bodies were scorched by the flames.

And not only that, the door leading towards the room where their guild master is situated also blasted open from that one spell just now. Walking towards the smoke-filled entrance, the figure fearlessly made his way inside and found himself in a large room.

He looked around and saw a couple of antiques and ornaments collected from all around Fiore. Gold and other treasures are seen in one corner before his eyes finally landed on a throne situated at the far side of the room itself.

Flames slowly crept from the outside and lit the room on fire as the figure walked closer to the dark throne.

Moments later, he stopped as his eyes looked solely at the throne where a shady-looking man sits on it calmly as if he was expecting him.

"I never expected you to come so soon."

"…" The figure never replied. Instead, he continued to stare at the man in front of him.

"Not fond of talking, aren't we? Well, I would've tried to kill you for killing my guild members and setting my guild on fire though I can't possibly do that for me to have such an honor to meet the demons from the Book of Zeref."

"…"

"Tell me, why does Tartaros want to put down all the dark guilds? From what I've heard, they've been defeated by some guild a year back so I didn't expect them to resurface at a time like this. Did Lord Mard Geer want another purging of the dark guilds again?"

"Mard Geer is dead." For the first time, the figure spoke.

"Hoh? Then what other reasons for the remaining Nine Demon Gates to wage a war against their own comrades? I presume you defected from Tartaros?"

"I'm not here on behalf of Tartaros or anything like that. I've come…" He paused as he lifted his right hand towards the sitting figure before a surge of dark red flames erupted from his hand.

"…to erase all of you along with Zeref's existence."

And in just like that, the man widened his eyes as the flames shot out from his hand and engulfed the whole room itself. The stream of flames blasted from the behind the guild as the woman from the outside looked back at the guild with a thought.

"He's overdoing it… That Natsu." She couldn't even begin to say anything on her statement but she smiled nonetheless before looking back at the remaining controlled mages beat each other to death.

Behind the guild, the master floated in mid-air as he looked in awe at the destruction of his guild. He never heard of anyone from the Nine Demon Gates to hold such power in the nature of flames.

"Interesting… So you're nothing more different from that Crime Sorciere. I guess I was wrong about you." The man placed all of his hands in front of the figure below and shot two large beams of dark energy.

Natsu simply raised his right arm and deflected the beams with ease as it blasted through different directions and exploded in the near distance.

The master didn't hesitate to move in for his next attack as he dashed straight towards him with another spell.

 **"Eternal Darkness!"** A huge shadow loomed over to Natsu in fast speeds, seemingly trying to swallow him in darkness. The dragonslayer simply tapped his right foot as a burst of flames melted everything around him including the shadows itself, shocking the master.

"I-Impossible–" He wasn't given the time as Natsu appeared in front of him in an instant and nailed a powerful flaming uppercut from his right hand and sent him flying before briefly inhaling through his lungs for his final attack.

 **"Demonic Fire Dragon's Roar!"**

In just an instant, a massive stream of dark red flames erupted from his mouth and engulfed the man wholly. The roar went high above the forest as it blasted through the sky before dissipating a few seconds later.

Natsu looked at the burned field around him as his eyes fell on the figure plunging down to the ground just a few meters away from him. He didn't waste any time and walked towards it with haste.

The burns all over his body were all serious but he seems to be alive, to say the least after noticing the slight convulsions all over its scorched body.

Natsu knelt down to face the figure to speak.

"Now, tell me about Avatar." He asked nonchalantly, not really caring about his condition as of now.

"A-As if I'd tell you, d-defective demon!" The master managed to spat out but Natsu simply closed his eyes and decided for a different method.

He placed a hand on the man's head before closing his eyes. Soon afterwards, his mind suddenly went blank and shared the memories of the man, collecting any viable information that relates to Avatar.

"Guaaaaaa-" The man screamed in pain as Natsu continued racking his memories to find any information until-

"I see… So that's what it is." He widened his eyes for a moment before recomposing himself and drew back his hand from the man. He released a sigh afterwards before looking towards the destroyed guild behind him.

"It seems like we've stayed around for too long." He spoke.

"W-What did you just do?!" The man demanded despite the burns all over his body.

"I just looked at your memory to find anything related to that guild. It looks like the ritual is worse than I thought. If you just told me everything back then, you wouldn't have to suffer." Natsu replied before a feminine voice resounded from behind.

His gaze shifted over to the woman who had a relieved smile on her face after seeing him alright.

"Natsu!" She called out.

"Oh, you're done already, Sayla?" He spoke as soon as she approached him.

"You always give me the fewer enemies so it's not unusual since you like better opponents." She replied.

"S-Sayla? W-Why does the Goddess of the Chill Moon is eradicating their comrades?!" The man who knew the identity of the woman looked in disbelief as Sayla turned her attention towards him with anticipation.

"I'm no longer part of Tartaros. I serve on my true Master." She clarified.

"M-Master?! Did you betray Lord Mard Geer?!"

"Mard Geer is not the true master. He is." She pointed to Natsu who still had his hood on to conceal his face to him. He hardly cared anything about titles and such as he turned his attention away from him and began to walk in a different direction.

"Let's go, Sayla."

"E-Eh? You're not gonna finish him?"

"We got the information we need. The Council will soon arrive at the scene and we need to be in the dark as soon as we can." He suggested.

"Okay." She answered before also following the fleeing figure as they disappeared within just a few seconds, leaving Behemoth in flames.

* * *

 ** _The next day…_**

Morning soon rose from the far East, bringing light upon the world as people from their homes started out their day and filled the town with a lively start. Birds chirped loudly from the trees, enjoying the warmth of the morning sun as more living beings roam out from the wilds and also started their day as well.

Located in a forest lies a small campsite as two bedrolls are seen within the vicinity. A small campfire was seen in the middle, seemingly put out due to the lack of wood to sustain the fire.

Sayla woke up from her sleep as she slowly opened her groggy eyes and tried to shake off the drowsiness. The scaly scarf on her neck provided her warmth throughout the night which is probably the reason why she had a good sleep.

She looked around the camp and saw no sign of her companion since the other bedroll was already fixed neatly near the bag. She sat up straight and began to yawn silently before standing up and turned over to the bag to look for something.

"You're pretty early at this time of day, Sayla." A voice resounded from behind as she saw Natsu carrying a pile of wood from the woods.

"Morning, Natsu." She answered with a sleepy expression. Natsu nodded at her greeting and placed the wood on the nearby side and lend a hand to help her up.

The demon girl didn't hesitate to take his hand and pulled herself up with his help and finally start their day as usual.

"Breakfast is over there." Natsu pointed over to the pot laid behind the bag in which she took and ate happily. The pinkette simply started out packing up some things since they're relocating once more from their position after what happened last night.

It's been a year since they travelled together. A lot of things happened in the last couple of months between him and Sayla and they have been closer to each other more than ever. After the incident of the ritual regarding his powers, Natsu vowed to protect her with all his might.

It was the only thing that he wanted to repay to her after all that incident. Plus, he wanted to promise to himself that it is the last time he'd ever hurt her.

The curse finally merged within his magic for the first time and he's been training together with her to improve their curses together and learn to utilize his own alongside with Igneel's power.

Though during the past few months after that, a new threat resurfaces throughout Fiore about a certain rise of dark guilds just after the fall of the Balam Alliance. At first, the two thought it to be a minor problem since it doesn't harm any people but as the days grow by.

More people are being killed and sacrificed in their pointless crusade. And not only that, their purpose was the same as what Tartaros tried to do back then.

Natsu and Sayla participated in the dark guild hunt in the shadows without leaving a trace except for the rumors that started to spread around them as mysterious vigilantes although they didn't care much about it.

Their day started normally and eventually went to noon. Natsu finished packing up and erasing any pieces of evidence that may lead the Council from tracking them.

"Are you finished, Sayla?"

"Yeah." Putting up her hood to her head, the two went off the road once again to get away from the area as soon as possible.

"So how many dark guilds have we taken down so far?" Sayla turned to ask.

"I've lost count but I guess we're getting closer to the main branch."

"Avatar, huh?"

"Yeah… From what I've seen from that man's memories, they're preparing some sort of ritual over the past year." He explained as they walked along the road.

"So what does this ritual do exactly?"

"They're planning a full massacre since they believed that Zeref will show up where there's a lot of death." After hearing the purpose the ritual, Sayla simply sighed in depression.

"What nonsense. The only thing that could lure Zeref is-" She stopped for a moment as she looked at the pinkette with a worried expression.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-"

"I know… Don't worry about me. When that time comes, I'll make sure to defeat him and protect you." He reassured, earning a blush from her as she looked away in embarrassment.

"I-I know that, idiot." She mumbled but not long before she changed the topic.

"So do you know where its location?"

"Yeah, but there's something I need to do before we could blast that guild from the face of the earth." His eyes turned serious as he gazed over to the distance. Sayla could only look in confusion as she saw him in deep thought.

"I'll be right beside you, Natsu." She cheered him up in which it does as he smiled faintly towards her before looking at the mark located on his right arm.

They continued to walk towards the path together with Natsu looking up to the sky with a deep thought.

 _'What do you think I should do right now, Igneel?'_

Although he expected nothing from it, he smiled nonetheless. Whatever the future lies for the two of them, he will continue to strive to find a place where he and Sayla would be free from this curse.

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile…_**

A couple of council guards arrived at the now destroyed Behemoth as they saw it in ruins with embers and multiple of unconscious cultists lying around them. Others were quite unfortunate due to the fire that razed the whole guild down to the ground without leaving much a trace.

They began searching the scorched area for any survivors and placed magical cuffs on their hands to capture them. They were also quite shocked at the sight since the destruction left behind are quite immeasurable.

I mean, an army of cultists just wiped out in one night. Who could've possibly done such a thing?

A man dressed in a council suit arrived at the scene as he looked over to the aftermath of the battle in front of him. His hair consisted of a spiky feature that goes behind his back. Several nails pierce are seen from his face as he orders the whole council.

"Hurry up and grab many survivors as you can. We need them alive for interrogation. Stay away from the building! And find their guild master!" The man shouted.

"It seems like we're kinda late again." A huge black feline with the same outfit stood beside him with a huge sword behind his back as he looked at the destruction around him.

"Tsk, once again, they managed to get on step ahead of us." The man spoke in irritation.

"Judging from this level of destruction, it something quite not normal for a normal mage to do, especially the method of dismantling a dark guild, Gajeel."

"I know, Lily. It's been five months since this started. They hide their scent very well and also cover their tracks every way possible to prevent us from leading to them." Gajeel replied as he looked around to find anything useful.

"But who could possibly to do such a thing? Looking at the destruction it caused, it must be a fire mage." Pantherlily guessed.

"Yeah, no doubt."

"I know I might sound crazy but… do you think this is his doing?" Afraid to assume the worst, Pantherlily tried to question but Gajeel interrupted him before he could even finish.

"We haven't heard from Salamander or from anyone at Fairy Tail so it's unlikely but he's been missing ever since that day. Not even that blonde or little blue midget could find him."

"I heard they've been searching around Fiore, looking around him."

"Damn, poor sods. Just where did Salamander disappeared into?"

As they were talking, another person joined the group as they all looked back to see Levy approaching them with anticipation.

"Did you find anything, Levy?" Lily asked.

"No, but we found their guild master. I think you should hear this." She urged them to come over as they both followed her towards the other side of the guild and saw a severely wounded man, covered in burns all over his body.

The councilmen could not carry him since they might injure the man any further. A few healers went over to heal him but some of them pointed their weapons at him just to be sure he doesn't do anything suspicious.

"Gajeel, Levy, and Lily eventually arrived the scene and were confronted by the supervisor of the group who found the man.

"So what's his condition?"

"Severely burned from all parts of his body. We had to send in more healers to lessen the pain but it seems like he stayed out with the same condition since last night so I don't think we can save him if he's not brought back to a town." He reported.

"Good work. I'll take it from here." Gajeel walked past the councilman and looked at the wounded man.

"I do hope you try to cooperate with us because that's the only thing you can do for us. If not, we might as well leave you here." Gajeel gave him two choices but the man chuckled weakly under his breath and looked at the sky.

"… hey …-ome back." His voice croaked, making it hard for them to understand the words he was saying.

"What?"

"T-They've (cough)… come back." The man coughed roughly as his breathing became harder.

"Who are you talking about? What do you mean they're coming back?" Gajeel demanded.

"D-Demons from the Books of Zeref himself…"

It didn't take long until the three of them realized what he meant.

"Tartaros?!"

* * *

 **A/N: And here's the time skip for you guys. Sorry, it has been short and full of questions about everything but I'll promise to answer them with every chapter I post to reveal a one or two regarding the story itself.**

 **As usual, leave a comment and tell me what you think on the new arc so far. I'd appreciate it. Thanks for reading and I'll see you guys on the next chapter.**

 **\- wiErD SpeCtrumz blacking out… … …**


	10. Forgotten Ties

**A/N: Sup guys, wiErD here and I've got another chapter for you all.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for my plots. Everything else is owned by Hiro Mashima. Support the official release.**

* * *

 **\- Forgotten Ties –**

Located in the city of Era lies the newly reformed Magic Council as the once destroyed building at the top of the mountain was finally restored within a year. Due to the events regarding of Tartaros deliberate attack on the Council, all present members were killed along with some ex-members to get a hold of Face. Thanks to Fairy Tail's efforts alongside with the brief help of the dragons, they managed to avert disaster.

However, the Council itself is not completely functional as a whole within Ishgar as the remaining higher ups were uncertain for any replacements to fill in the position of each seat to govern the whole continent.

Despite all of that, they were able to manage a small group to fill in those seats in order to restore order temporarily. These past few months have been quite dangerous due to the rise of the dark guilds after hearing the news of the Council's destruction a year back.

And not to mention, the growing threat of the western continent that poses a huge discussion among the lesser council officials, questioning the Council's protection towards Ishgar.

Warrod stood silently from his miniature garden with a hand sprinkler on his hand. His face full of hope and cheerfulness as he waters his plant from time to time.

He was one of the people called out to reform the Council back on its feet and is now a member of the organization. It was a good privilege that the rest of the surviving council members managed to convince him to take on the position even if it's just temporary.

Plus, he also had a good reason for taking up the offer.

Most likely to Mest's request to reform the Council while also thinking up a plan to dig in information about Makarov's whereabouts inside Alvarez.

"It has been a year since then. The hearts of your precious children will soon rebuild their lost home, Mavis." His muttered as he looked at the window beside him and saw the bright sun rising from the distance, signifying the start of the day.

"You've been pretty carefree yourself, Warrod." A familiar voice resounded from the door as Warrod showcases his unfunny sense of humor as he looked over to a small old man appearing from the entrance.

His eyes immediately recognized the person as one of the Wizard Saints that holds the position of the third seat, while also upholding the title as the Four Heavenly Gods of Ishgar.

"Ohhhh, what brings you here, little wolfie! I see time has not changed your lack of patience." Warrod joked but Wolfheim simply ignored the remark about him and walked silently across his room with a deep thought.

"Don't get so much carefree on your own time, Warrod. Things are changing. This time, we're bound to be the ones who will uphold the responsibility of looking after the people." He warned, specifically mentioning one topic that they're currently discussing.

"Alvarez Empire… Are they now making a move?" Warrod asked. His previous expression instantly turned into seriousness.

"Not what the reports say, no. In fact, we still have our own set of problems inside the country as of now."

"Oh, do you mean that Avatar business thing? I thought Erza Scarlet was overseeing the whole operation on dismantling it from the inside. How long has it been since I last met her on the meeting." Warrod once again went back to his goofy attitude.

"The situation has gone worse. They uncovered a ritual that would cause a lot of deaths to lure out Zeref within our borders." Wolfheim revealed.

"…" Warrod didn't reply in return but he continued to listen.

"This is one situation that we cannot overlook. We need to deal with this situation before we could even advance through our discussion regarding on the western continent."

"Hmm, I see… Does Hyberion have any say towards this predicament?" He asked.

"He's too much focused on the reformation of the Council but I've no doubt he would not let this pass either."

As the two conversed, a knock on the door was heard from behind as Jura slowly appeared with a few papers in hand, seemingly to report of today's operation regarding of Avatar's investigation.

"Excuses, Master Warrod and Master Wolfheim. I came here from the reports from Levy Mcgarden about the events about Behemoth's movements." Jura reported in.

"What do they find?" Wolfheim looked at the rock mage in anticipation. Jura nodded as he began to explain the situation.

"Behemoth has been destroyed… Rather, it was razed down like all the other dark guilds that we've come to investigate, relating to Avatar. They managed to find their guild master but he was critically injured so Gajeel and Levy brought him into the nearest town before any questions could be answered. A few survivors were captured and interrogated as well but they all said the same thing." Jura finished.

"I see… I guess, there's still no lead regarding the mysterious vigilantes that have been helping to dismantle the arising dark guilds." Wolfheim sighed, tired of hearing the same reports all over again as he began to turn around and talk to Warrod once again until-

"Wait a moment, Master Wolfheim. The Detention Enforcement Unit also managed to get an information from Behemoth's guildmaster before he passed out!" He paused as Wolfheim turned back on the rock mage once more in curiosity.

"What did he say?" Wolfheim waited in anticipation alongside with Warrod who stopped watering his plants for a moment to listen to the report.

Jura looked further to the writings until his eyes widened in disbelief after reading the final message from the report. His hands shook in shock and his expression turned into fear as Wolfheim and Warrod suddenly narrowed their eyes, noticing his sudden change of expression.

"I-Impossible… Are they sure about this?!" Jura couldn't believe the reports, briefly forgetting that he was reporting the situation in front of the two Gods of Ishgar.

"What is then? Spit it out!" Wolfheim was running out of patience. Jura swallowed for a moment before finally revealing the report.

"Tartaros has resurfaced."

It didn't take long as their eyes also fell into shock after hearing the news. The once silent atmosphere was immediately filled with dread and fear as Wolfheim regained his composure and simply went on his way out of the room.

"I'll have to inform Hyberion about this!" With a swift move, he vanished from the hall in just a few seconds, leaving only Warrod and Jura inside the room.

Moments later, the tree mage recomposed himself before looking back at Jura with a deep thought.

"Is it true?"

"I don't get much of the clear details but they heard the guild master said something about the Demons from the Book of Zeref," Jura explained.

"I see. I guess the situation has gone worse than we thought it would be. Thank you for your help. Send me word for Erza Scarlet. I'll have to inform her of the situation." Warrod ordered, causing the rock mage to nod in response before making his way out of the room with haste to fulfill his duty.

Warrod looked once again to the outside world in worry.

 _'Tartaros… Just what are you up to this time?'_

* * *

 ** _Magarett Town…_**

The town has been filled with lots of people as the day progresses on towards the cold noon. Residents and traders flocked the streets, turning the whole town into a bustling place. Kids ran around merrily in circles playing with each other which adds the liveliness of the people as a whole.

And not only that, there's also a reason why people come together to celebrate with each other.

That is because of Lamia Scale's Thanksgiving Day.

People gathered over to the said guild as they watched different shows of the members celebrate their day along with the town as their source of pride and glory. Different performances were demonstrated at the entrance as people enjoyed every spectacle in it.

"Do you think Wendy is participating in this event?" A blue cat spoke beside a blonde-haired girl as they make their appearance into town.

"I think so. Plus, I think it might be interesting to see what kind of performance she's doing with Chelia right now." The woman spoke with a smile as she made their way towards the busy streets of Magarett.

A few minutes of wading through the thick crowd they managed to reach the guild with anticipation as they saw a multitude of people gathering around the stage to watch the most awaited performance ever.

"It seems like their performance is next, Lucy!" The blue flying cat exclaimed.

"Yeah." Lucy nodded.

The two looked over to the announcer as they recognize him to be Yuka Suzuki as he holds on the mic to announce the last performers of today's celebration.

 _"And now, the one you've all been waiting for… Our guild's very own angel, the Sky Sisters! Wendy and Chelia!"_

As soon as Yuka shouts, the two mentioned performers rushed from the large curtains behind the stage with their angelic outfits and mics as they waved the roaring crowd cheering for them.

A loud noise filled the atmosphere around them as the two began to sing a song dedicated to their annual Thanksgiving Day.

Music filled the ears of the audience as Wendy and Chelia danced happily on stage, giving them an amazing and pleasing entertainment to everyone, including the two. People rhymed with every strong lyric the two were singing as the dance went on for a few more minutes to have fun alongside with everyone.

The smiles and happy faces on each of everyone filled the air with a successful upbringing in this year's Thanksgiving Day for the people of Magarett.

"They surely know how to make everyone happy, right Happy?" Lucy looked back at the blue Exceed with a smile.

"Aye!" Happy returned with the same expression as the performances ended with confetti and cheers from the audience as the two waved their thanks to them and went back stage to finally finish their show.

"Come on, let's say hi to them! It's been a month since we last visited them so there's a chance that they might know his whereabouts." Lucy suggested as the Exceed agreed happily and simply walked through the side to greet their former guildmates.

..

..

A couple of minutes passed and the performance was finally finishing its last announcements and thanksgivings towards the people of Magarett. Wendy and Chelia rested along with the other performers of the show inside the guild as they changed back to their normal clothes.

After a two-day long rehearsal with their guild master who always spins them if they hit a mistake was actually tiring though they don't seem to be bothered at all. It's just that it's all vexing because of the constant repetition of practices they've done yesterday.

"Good job out there, Wendy." Chelia complimented as she hands out a water bottle to help the bluenette.

"T-Thank you. Though I'm still pretty embarrassed by it. I mean, it's my first time doing things like these." She admitted.

"You'll get used to it," Chelia reassured.

"LOVE! LOVE! SKY SISTERS!" Toby shouted from the background.

"Don't get angry all of a sudden," Yuka added along the comedic exchange. Their teases, however, only made the sky dragonslayer to feel more embarrassed as ever as her face went up beet red which only made her fellow Sky Sister to smile along with the others.

"But I kinda loved it. I wish we could do better." Wendy admitted.

"Well, there's always next year." Chelia cheered.

"Oh please, stop expecting too early. You've just finished your performance and now you're thinking about plans for the next one." Another voice cut in their conversation as a humanoid feline figure made her appearance towards them.

"Carla!" Wendy exclaimed.

The white feminine Exceed sighed at the group as she silently made her way towards her dragonslayer to speak.

"We have visitors." She pointed over to the entrance as Lucy and Happy appeared from the guild doors with smiling faces as they saw the sky dragonslayer from one of the tables with Chelia.

"Hello, Wendy!" Lucy waved.

"Hiya! Wendy!" Happy called out.

"Happy! Lucy-san!" Wendy exclaimed in surprise but not long before she stood up from her seat and approached her two friends in happiness.

"How are you, Wendy? Your performance was great by the way. You look so beautiful although you're still young." Lucy complimented.

"T-Thank you, Lucy-san!" Wendy shook her head in embarrassment as Happy joined in the conversation.

"Yeah, after a few months, you might even surpass Lucy in no time." And of course, Happy expected a smack on the back of his head as Lucy turned her attention towards him in annoyance.

"What's that supposed to mean, stupid cat?!"

Wendy smiled along with the unforgettable banter between her and Happy as she soon remembered something to ask for their visiting here.

"What brings you here, Lucy-san?" At that moment, Lucy and Happy broke away from their argument and went towards the topic that they wanted to ask.

"Oh, we were just asking if you gain anything about Natsu. Do you guys have any leads?"

As soon as they asked that, Wendy and Carla only answered with blank air as their expressions immediately turned somber at the mention of a certain person that disappeared over a year ago. The atmosphere around the guild also fell silent as several of the guildmembers of Lamia Scale recognize the person who they thought to be missing as well.

Lucy and Happy also dropped their hope as they realized that they also happen to know nothing about his whereabouts.

It's already been a year since he disappeared from the guild.

Happy was the first one to know his sudden disappearance after the events regarding the aftermath of their battle against Tartaros. He never noticed him leaving or disappearing from the battle either.

Something must've gone wrong with him and eventually Lucy came around to help with the search in order to find him. She made several contacts like Wendy to search any clues leading to the pinkette. Erza and Gray were nowhere to be found despite her desperate search for their locations so she relied on easy approaches in order to begin their search.

She might even think that Erza and Gray haven't known about the pinkette's disappearance at all so it is quite worrisome. Not to mention, Happy's devastation after his dragonslayer's disappearance.

He did not smile the same as before. Although he could still feel happy usually in front of his friends, Happy felt empty whenever he found himself thinking about the pinkette and it hurts just to see him like, especially Carla.

For months, they tried to search alongside with the sky dragonslayer along with her Exceed whenever they had the time to go along with them but they haven't got any single clue of where he's been.

There was a moment of silence between them until Lucy realized it and decided to call off the depressing atmosphere around them.

"Sorry for asking I didn't mean to bring it up on purpose. I just thought you guys might have a lead." Lucy apologized.

"I-It's not your fault, Lucy-san. I, too have been thinking a lot of why he'd disappeared just like that." Wendy replied with reassurance.

"Yeah, that confused me too. I know what happened to your dragons but it doesn't make sense for him to disappear from the face of the earth, especially if it's him we're talking about here." Carla joined in.

"Salamander is still missing, huh?" Lyon asked.

"Yeah. We've been posting some posters on some towns to spread our search but no one seemed to have seen him in these last couple of months." Lucy reasoned.

"There must be some kind of reason in his disappearance. Plus, he's bad at hiding." Carla added.

"Well things aside, we know that it isn't our business, to begin with, but we'd also like to help out in any way we can to find him, isn't that okay with you two?" Lyon proposed as he looked at Lucy and Happy with confirmation.

"That would be great! We've been running short of people at the moment since we only traveled on least parts of the country for just a year." Lucy smiled.

"Then that's settled. After we're done finishing our loose ends of the event, we'll send out some members on every town to ask for any information regarding on him." Lyon spoke.

"Sorry for the bother, Lyon-san!" Wendy bowed but the ice-mage user only smiled in response.

"It's natural for one guild to help another, you know. No need to apologize me for something like that." He reassured before looking back to the two visitors.

"There's a spare room inside our guild. Feel free to settle in as long as you want. I think both of you and Wendy here have something more to discuss." He glanced away and heads out from the guild, leaving the others to continue their previous ventures once again.

* * *

A few hours passed and the rest of the celebration finally ended as the day turned towards the afternoon as the sun moves in further to the west. People still wandered through the streets and continued their lives as usual even after the end of the Thanksgiving Day.

Lucy and Happy settled themselves on one open room as it consisted of two beds placed across from each other with two nightstands beside it. A small table and a chair are also seen in the middle of it, accompanied by a small lacrima light located on the ceiling.

"Haaaa~ Hot baths are sooooo nice." Lucy hummed in thought as she changed into her new clothes after taking a short bath to refresh herself from today's work.

"Really? Their fish is good too." Happy rummaged through the plate of fish presented to him as a gift for visiting their parade.

"How long has it been since we last rested in a place like this?" Lucy threw herself on the bed, facing the ceiling while Happy continued chewing on his fish.

"Dunno… I lost count but it's not that bad, I think." Happy replied.

"So much has happened, huh. I mean, over the past few months, we've been searching for him while the others moved on."

"It's not like they know about what happened. It's better for us to not tell them yet if we don't want them to worry." Happy reasoned.

"You're right. They don't need to know about this. But we cannot simply hide this forever to them, Happy. Sooner or later, they will know that he disappeared without them knowing over the past year."

"Then all the more reason we should go and try harder, right?" At first, Lucy was surprised at his reply which only then, made her smile a bit and felt better.

"Yeah…"

A faint knock resounded from their door as they watched it open and revealed Wendy who still in her usual clothes since after the performance. She carried Carla in her arms who is now on her cat-like form which sends a relief to the blue Exceed after seeing her.

"Sorry to bother you, Lucy-san. May I come in?"

"O-Oh, sure." Lucy nodded as the sky dragonslayer went inside and sat on the other side of the bed across Lucy and Happy.

An awkward silence fills the air around them until Lucy tried to speak.

"S-So, what brings you here, Wendy? I thought you were in the same room as Chelia."

"Chelia had some things to take care of so I was left alone in the room with Carla."

"I see…" Another wave of silence filled the air as the two fell silent with each other along with the Exceeds who seemed to notice the awkward silence between each other.

"U-Umm, L-Lucy-san?" This time, Wendy began their conversation.

"Yeah?"

"Lyon said something about having a discussion between me and you… Could it be he wants me to come with you and find him?" She assumed but Lucy felt silent as her gaze looked down on her feet before speaking.

"I know you had a lot of things and connections with Lamia Scale. It's been a year since Fairy Tail disbanded and I know we all feel the same of what happened that day. I understand if you don't want to come because I know how much they've provided you over the past year. I mean, you're already best friends with Chelia. I can't easily break that bond between you two." Lucy smiled but Wendy felt that she wanted to say something.

"No, that's not what I-" She paused on her statement as she looked at the blonde mage with worry. It's not that she don't want to help her. She still had something to do to repay back Lamia Scale for all the things they've done to her.

She also understands that Master had a good reason for disbanding Fairy Tail like that. But a sense of guilt always fills her heart whenever she thinks about quitting her current guild to follow her friends in search for their missing guild mate.

And not only that, the memories she had with the people who have taken her in despite being alone after Fairy Tail's disbandment. She wanted to repay them all. She wanted to at least give them a sort of gratitude for looking out for her and Carla in this past whole year.

But with things right now, she had to make a choice for herself.

"Wendy?" Carla looked worriedly as the sky dragonslayer shook her head and felt her body slightly shake in uncertainty.

It didn't take long until she steeled herself and regained her determination to speak once more.

"Even though we may be in different guilds, we're still Fairy Tail mages. If my heart wants to find Natsu-san then I will do the best I can to help you and take him back with us." With her final resolution, she faced the two with determination as Happy and Carla smiled at her answer.

"Wendy…" Lucy trailed off in her words as she looked at the determined mage right in front of her and could only smile in return.

Outside the room, Chelia simply leaned against the wall. A smile is plastered on her face, feeling relieved after hearing her best friend's answer.

"So you're finally coming with us?" Happy asked.

"Yes but I'll have to say a few words with the others before leaving. I might feel bad for not saying anything for them after all this time." Wendy reminded.

"Of course, take your time. I think it's best for you to talk them about it."

"Good grief. And here I thought I have to give you a piece of encouragement to make you choose but I guess that's not needed now." Carla sighed.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Wendy looked displeasingly at her Exceed from her teases as the four began to enjoy their time together until-

 **BOOOOOOOM***

A large explosion erupted within the guild as the sound boomed across the town, sending all the nearby people in panic as they saw several large animals rampaging throughout the streets and blindly attacking people in the process.

"What is happening?!" Lucy asked in disbelief as the two girls scrambled on their feet towards the door.

"What's that noise?" Happy felt startled at the sudden explosion.

Soon afterward, the door opened as Chelia met up with the two with a serious expression.

"It's them!"

"Who's them?" Lucy asked.

"Orochi… Their guild and ours have been long rivals since all the way back." Chelia explained.

"Rivals?!" Lucy and Happy stuttered in shock.

"They must've seen it as an opportunity now that Jura-san is part of the Council." Wendy assumed.

"Not only that, we've let our guard down because of the Thanksgiving Day," Carla added as they all went downstairs to see several monsters rampaging inside the guild while the other members tried to put them down.

"Let's go! We should help them!" Lucy shouted as the two sky magic-users nodded in response before jumping down to bring down the beasts.

 **"First Sky Arrow!"**

 **"Second Sky Arrow!"**

Both two cloaked their feet in the air as their kicked the monsters down on the ground, knocking unconscious before facing off against the other monsters inside the guild.

"Let's go, Happy!"

"Aye!"

Carrying the blonde behind her back, Lucy began to call out one from her keys before chanting her spell.

 **"Gate of the Lion Key, I open thee: Loke!"** As soon as she shouted her chant, Loke appeared in his usual formal suit with fancy glasses and greeted his caster with elegance.

"You called me, Hime."

"You know what to do, Loke! Please help the others!"

The celestial spirit didn't waste any time as he jumped towards the ground and proceeded to attack the monsters to protect the others.

"Here I go!"

 **"Leo Form!"** With the increase of her magical power over the last few months, she can now utilize the powers of her celestial spirits to use it as her own. Her clothes changed that of an elegant frilled, black ball gown that is slitting up on her leg and tied with a gold sash that sits on her hips. A black, frilled choker sits around her neck, and a ribbon with the mark of the zodiac is seen upon it. She also sported black heels and her hair is now tied up in a quaint bun that is decorated with a black flower.

She jumped down from the stairs as well alongside with the others to defeat the remaining monsters inside.

It didn't take them a few minutes as they proceeded outside and saw Lyon and the others also fighting some monsters trying to get into the town. Others led the people to evacuate the town in order to prevent them from getting involved in the fight.

"Damn, to think that they would attack us at this moment. Just how lowly they have become." Lyon muttered in anger as he easily encased another monster in ice with just a swipe of his hand.

"Everyone!" Wendy and the others called out as they approached the others to find more about the situation.

"Wendy, Chelia, and Lucy too! I'm glad you're here. Orochi had just started their attack on us."

"We know… And it seems like they picked this opportunity since we're completely had our guards down." Yuka added.

On the other hand, Toby looked far away into the distance as his eyes widened in shock in disbelief after seeing more of the monster coming at their way.

"There's more coming! We've got a large group of monsters coming from the west side! About a hundred thousand!" He shouted, catching everyone in shock and disbelief at such a number of monsters sent in their way.

A-A hundred thousand?!" Lucy and Happy gaped in shock.

"The city won't be able to stand against an attack like that." Lyon gritted his teeth in frustration as he prepares to summon his spells against the incoming advance.

"Only a monster tamer can handle such a trick like this. Orochi must've gotten themselves one among their ranks." Yuka presumed.

"So if we take him out-"

"We can stop the monster's advance!" Lucy finished.

"But how are we suppose to get around that horde?!" Toby asked in an angry tone.

"We could use the sky." Lucy pointed her hand above.

"Yes!" Wendy nodded in response.

"Will you lend us a hand?" Lyon asked Lucy and Happy.

"Of course, we just can't let them have their way with our friends. Lamia Scale is Fairy Tail's ally and we will join in the fight!" Lucy declared.

"Well in that case, can you help me for a bit, Happy?" It was then Chelia turned to speak as she looked at the blue Exceed with determination.

"Eh?"

"Carla and Wendy will attack from the skies. I can't leave her out alone there so I need to lend your powers, Happy." Chelia pleaded which made the blue Exceed think for a moment before grabbing her back and flew high in the air alongside with the two.

"Aye, sir!"

"Let's keep going, Happy!"

"We'll save Lamia Scale!" And in just like that, the two girls alongside with the Exceeds flew through the sky to defeat the monster tamer. The others below simply moved up on their preparations to defend the city as the horde of monsters continued their advance towards them.

* * *

Meanwhile, at the far west of the city itself lies the whole guild members of Orochi as they stood together from atop of a cliff, watching as the monsters advance towards the city with only several mages trying to slow the horde from getting inside.

The futile attempts simply made them laugh at their rival guild, seeing their helplessness over the distance.

"What a magnificent view!"

"Perfect time to wipe it off from the face of the earth!"

"As expected, Lamia Scale is nothing without their ace. They're going to be killed in time!"

Murmurs and mumbles went over to the group as they watched the scene from afar and could only revel in the monsters' destructive rampage through the land. They all smirked in victory as they watched Lamia Scale being attacked without given them as much time to prepare themselves as such as fight they cannot even win.

Amongst the guild was the monster-tamer who only looked in awe at his power before speaking alongside with his comrades.

"We'll let them use as much magic as they want to hold out and then, we'll bleed them dry once they are all unable to fight." He smirked evilly as he laughed mockingly towards the city in assurance.

However, their celebration was momentarily interrupted as one of the members saw two cloaked figures standing from the distance away from the horde and to them.

"Look!"

"Who's that?!"

"Lamia Scale?"

"Don't be ridiculous! They don't have any chance of reaching through here since the monsters will be destroying their city if they attacked right now." A couple of murmurs went over to the group as they looked suspiciously towards the duo.

On the other hand, Natsu simply glanced back to Sayla with anticipation before speaking.

"Can you take care of the horde?" He asked.

"Easy. But you better finish up here quick. It's a city we're close by." She reminded.

"I know but don't also get caught, alright?" He returned the favor.

"Sure thing. Let's finish this and be on our way."

Natsu only answered with a slight nod as he tugged his cloak to hide his face even further and proceeded towards the cliff to confront the other guild members. Sayla, on the other hand, vanished from her position and used her speed to reach the town to stop the advance.

The members looked at the approaching figure with hostility as they all readied their weapons against him.

"I don't know who you are but I won't let you disrupt our plans in destroying that wretched city!" The monster tamer shouted in defiance as a couple of men tried to cut the dragonslayer down with their weapons at hand.

Natsu merely sighed before releasing a final mumble underneath his breath.

"Good grief. Although I vowed not to take on any guild aside from the dark ones, I never thought of taking down one."

Before they could all even connect their weapons against him, the whole field was simply engulfed into a massive hellfire that soon shot out throughout the sky, making it visible even to the people in the city far away.

Orochi members could only widen their eyes in disbelief as they were engulfed in a fiery dome of fire, rendering them unable to fight as the cliff itself was simply destroyed in an instant.

Everyone took notice of the fire being shot out of the sky as Wendy and Chelia looked over to the distance, approaching the Orochi headquarters with the help of the Exceeds.

"What was that?" Chelia asked.

"I don't know but we're about to find out." Wendy narrowed her eyes in seriousness as they flew towards it to investigate.

Meanwhile, others back at the town also took notice of the huge dome of fire near the mountains. Their attention all fell into that one burst of fire in the horizon as they could feel the shockwave coming through here like a volcanic eruption.

"What the hell was that?" Lucy muttered as she looked disbelievingly at the sight before her.

"I hope those four will be alright," Yuka spoke.

"There's no time to worry. We should focus on driving these monsters out from the city until Wendy and Chelia could defeat their monster tamer!" Lyon shot another ice spell on the beast and looked at the distance as more monsters advance through the gates in amazing speeds.

At this rate, the city will be overrun.

..

..

"Everyone, stay back!" A feminine voice resounded from above as a cloaked figure descended in front of them and faced the horde in the process.

"Who are you?" Lyon asked after seeing the figure's style of clothing. Anyone would be suspicious if they saw a person wearing a cloak to hide their faces from the eyes of others. Lucy also stood in surprise at the figure in front of her.

She doesn't sound like Meredy or anyone from Crime Sorciere since she could only assume the figure to be part of Jellal's Independent guild.

On the other hand, the figure simply glanced her head sideways as if she would want to speak.

"If you want to protect your city from those monsters, I suggest you all step back." She answered without changing the tone of her voice as the others did what she ordered them to do and finally turns back to the approaching horde.

Slowly waving her arms in a circular fashion, the figure stretched her arms forward before she began to chant her spell.

The words she chanted were in a different language but everyone could feel the ominous meaning behind those words as the figure finally finishes her chant and shouted her final word.

 ** _"Mortem!"_**

As soon as she said that, an invisible wave blasted towards the horde as the monsters immediately fell down on their knees and stumbled forward as if they instantly felt limp, seeing all of them fall down to the ground one by one.

Lucy and the others could only stutter in shock after witnessing such power. They couldn't comprehend it by simple words as the monsters all fell down even at the ones at the far distance stopped advancing. Instead, the whole field was filled with dead monsters as nothing can be seen moving it.

The presence of death was somehow oddly similar to what she witnessed a year back. But it's too early to be assuming just yet, she doesn't even know the person in front of her.

After a few seconds of staring in shock, Lyon immediately regained his composure and eventually lowered his guard towards the cloaked figure.

"I don't know who you are or what you want but I thank you for saving the town."

"…" The figure never turned her head back towards them and simply walked away towards the entrance but not long before she left a reply to him.

"This is nothing compared to what I've done in the past. It is not enough."

And with that, her figure disappeared from sight, leaving the others confused yet safe and sound from the onslaught of the monsters.

..

..

..

On the other hand, Natsu stood among the burnt bodies of Orochi's guild members as the field around them was completely engulfed in fire, leaving only a few smokes and embers lying around his surroundings as he walked over to the monster tamer with questions.

Lifting his head up, Natsu turned in to ask him.

"Where's you guild master?"

"A-As if I'd tell you, bastard! Y-You're not worthy of challenging him alone! No-rather, it's a deathwish for you to challenge him alone!" He boasted despite his injuries.

"Is that so?" He slams his head back down to the ground to knock him out cold as he looked over to the left and saw a man approaching the scene.

Natsu didn't even have to identify the man as he noticed his face after remembering a certain memory a couple of years back in Tenrou Island.

"Bluenote Stinger…" Natsu uttered the true identity of the man as Bluenote raised an eyebrow towards him in curiosity for realizing his name.

"Hmmm?" With a strong gaze, Bluenote immediately raised his right fist and used his magic to flung the pinkette onto a nearby boulder than soon created a huge cloud of debris as the force of his gravity magic was strong enough to blow him away in just a second.

"How did you know my name?!" He asked in a very angered manner as he looked at the dust in front of him.

"Attacking your opponent without exchanging some words is so much like you, Bluenote," Natsu spoke darkly as he emerged from the smoke completely unscathed although his clothes were dirtied a bit and his cloak completely unveiled, showing his somewhat overgrown pink hair and also the face that the gravity mage immediately recognized.

"You…"

"You are that small fry…" For some reason, Bluenote felt a surge of hatred towards him after realizing the kid from eight years ago.

Without waiting enough time on him, Bluenote rushed in from above and used his magic to crush the pinkette down to the ground as he increased his power to empower his gravity around him.

 _'You're that fucking brat!'_

However, his eyes went in full surprise as Natsu was able to withstand all of his gravity magic pressed on him, seeing that he didn't move an inch or even had his head lowered down despite the weight pushed down on him.

"DIE!" With a final push of his power, the ground shook in its power as it crushed down further below but Natsu still remained unfazed throughout his gravity.

"Why?! Why are you not bending your head?!" Bluenote shouted as he desperately tries to crush the pinkette with all his power but he stood there like it was nothing.

"I remember that time when you tried to crush me back then. I guess, this time, **I'll crush you instead.** "

With enmity in his voice, Natsu lifted his hand above towards him before releasing his spell.

"Fly away…"

 **"Fire Dragon King's Hell Blaze!"**

In an instant, Bluenote was simply engulfed in the large stream of flames that shot out once again throughout the sky, blowing past the clouds from the sky before resulting a nuclear-sized explosion from the heavens that shocked the surviving members around him after witnessing such power.

They all sweated in fear as they looked at the pinkette with their trembling bodies. Such power is not normal for anyone to wield it. Rather, they could see a different depiction of the person in front of them and only one thing defined him as a whole.

That guy is a monster.

As soon as Bluenote's body crashes down to the ground, the other Orochi members ran away from the pinkette in fear as they saw his overwhelming power over their master.

The others who were scorched from his attack simply cowered in fear in his presence, hoping that they won't get blasted away as well. A spell like that could potentially kill anyone who is not durable enough to withstand it.

Natsu sighed at the destruction around him and despite all of it, he managed to knock them out instead of killing them since they're not part of the dark guild.

He was about to leave until a voice called him back and widened his eyes in surprise as Wendy and Chelia descended from the sky and recognized him immediately after seeing his hair.

"N-N-Natsu-san?" Wendy quivered in her voice as tears have started to form around her eyes after seeing him alive and well.

Not only that, the Exceed carrying the godslayer also couldn't hold back his own tears after seeing his foster parent once again.

"N-Natsu?"

"Happy… Wendy…"

* * *

 **A/N: And here's the next chapter for you guys. I wanted to flesh out this new arc just to give the readers a better view of the twist I made on the arc itself. I was about to post this the other day but I feel like I needed to post it right away just so I can start off with the next one.**

 **Here's a gift for you guys and I hope you enjoy it.**

 **As usual, leave a comment and tell me what you think so far. I'd really appreciate it.**

 **Thanks for reading and I'll see you guys on the next chapter.**

 **\- wiErD SpeCtrumz blacking out… … …**


	11. Memoirs Pt 1

**A/N: Sup guys, wiErD here and I've got another chapter for you all. This one features some of the events before the timeskip after the ritual of Natsu's confrontation against END. And also some twists and fluffs for the pairing of course so let's get started.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for my plots. Everything else is owned by Hiro Mashima. Support the official release.**

* * *

 **\- Memoirs Pt. 1 –**

 **Flashback from a year back…**

A week has passed since then after his victory over END and the full control of his curse powers. Natsu felt a lot better of the past few days since the pain on his head had finally stopped. Additionally, his powers increased a thousand-fold from what he had been before ever since taking in the curse along with his magic.

There's still some things he needed answering including his dragon marking that is located on his right arm where he used it to fight END in his subconscious but his attention is only focused on the recovering demon girl beside him right now.

He sat on a chair beside a bed where Sayla was currently resting due to her exhaustion from her fight against his uncontrolled state. Although, they both have great regeneration abilities, her fight with him took a great toll on her body that she needed Ethernano particles to stabilize her body.

For now, she is fine but it's been five days since she slept. She never woke up from her sleep and Natsu could only sit and wait until she managed to wake up and join with him once more.

They settled in at a nearby town not far from where they started their ritual. Natsu had accommodated a small inn for them to rest and eventually, he started to tend to her injuries and provided her with enough time to let her body rest and heal.

Night had descended and the people returned to their homes to sleep for the night but Natsu stayed awake all the time. He wanted to see her wake up before he could even help himself for that matter.

It was the only thing he wanted to do. He owed her so much because she risked her life just to protect him from many things. It's only been a couple of months since they travelled together and Sayla already values him that greatly to the point she would do anything to help him control his power even though she knew it would be that dangerous.

And he was just mad at himself for causing her too much pain.

His memories reverted back after the ritual.

The destruction and pain that he inflicted on her without even knowing. Just that one thought is causing him to hate himself for not realizing.

If he knew all of it, he would've finished everything and prevented her from getting hurt.

He gritted his teeth in frustration upon remembering that memory.

His grip on her hand slowly tightens as he remembered all those things that END said to him.

It made him angry. But in his final moments, the words he parted with him is somehow ominous. Even though he won that fight, his message towards his future is not something he must take lightly upon.

His head hurts just by having too much thoughts inside his mind right now. His eyes soon drew back towards Sayla who is still sleeping and somehow found himself in peace. Just by seeing her peacefully sleep beside him makes him forget all the things that happened to him back at Tartaros.

Though she was in the midst of it all, he can never picture herself to be among those demons after knowing her that much.

A faint smile crept its way on to his lips as the night pressed on.

Silence fell into the room. The faint light of the moon shines over to the window and into the dark room. His body lay still as he waited for her to wake up.

-to come back to him.

Hours passed and his hope returned as he felt a gentle twitch from her hand.

His head jolted up almost immediately but retained his silence as he saw her slowly opening her eyes. A huge weight on his heart was instantly lifted after seeing her finally wake up for the first time in five days.

The sleeping woman drew her gaze over to the dark ceiling, asking to herself on how she had landed here in the first place.

Her memories are still groggy and the events that transpired between her and Natsu are still yet to come back. She turned her head sideways, looking at the empty room until she finally found the person she was looking for.

"Natsu…"

At first, there was a momentary gaze as she looked at the dragonslayer in wonder until her memories finally kicked back and remembered everything.

"Natsu–kugh–!" Accidentally trying to sit up straight, Sayla never took notice of her current condition as the pain went over to her body, causing her to wince.

"Don't get up so quickly… You're still injured." Natsu simply went over and ease her back to her bed to rest. He set his joy aside since he can't do anything but help her rest in order to restore her strength back to her body.

Right now, Sayla is nothing but a vulnerable injured human being. She can't use her powers or move her body just yet after taking much damage from her fight against him.

At first, Sayla tried to ignore it but she realized the current state of her body as she could feel a sore pain welling up every time she tried to move. Eventually, she complied with his instructions and simply lay down her head for now. She faced back to the ceiling before setting her eyes over to the pinkette right beside him.

"What happened?" She asked in a faint voice.

"You passed out… So I had to carry you back to a nearby town and help you recover." He explained which slightly surprised her but eventually softened afterwards and looked back again to the ceiling in deep thought.

"I see…" She trailed off.

An awkward silence befell after that as Sayla continued to adjust her senses to her surroundings.

As soon she managed to get hers back to normal, she continued.

"What about the ritual? Did you finally-"

"Yes… Thanks to you, I felt better. You don't have to worry about it." He spoke in reassurance, causing her to faintly smile in return and felt relieved by his words.

"That's good… I'm glad…" She mumbled.

Another awkward silence befell between them until Natsu wanted to speak for something in regards to her.

"Sayla, I… I'm sorry." He muttered depressingly as the girl looked at him in confusion at the sudden apology.

"W-What for?"

"For hurting you. If I had been early, you wouldn't have to suffer like this. It was my fault for not doing it earlier. Yet I-" He struggled to find the words he wanted to say to her. Sayla could only look at him with such worry as she slowly reached out her hand towards his cheek.

For a moment, Natsu was surprised as he felt through her gentle touch and eventually landed his gaze back to her in worry as she begins to smile at him.

It was a different kind of smile. Not like the ones he always saw back in a few days with her. It was a smile that shows concern and great care to someone she truly values the most. It was the first feeling he felt from her. She was the first one to have ever shown such feelings towards him even as a demon herself.

Her cheeks were slightly flushed red but the angle of the moonlight made it hard to recognize as she looked at him in wonder.

"Don't apologize… It was not your fault. I started it so I should expect the consequences."

"But you did for me. You even lied to me… You know I hated lying." He begins to scold her again but Sayla lightly chuckled from his silly reply as she smiled warmly.

"I'm sorry for that. I guess I can never remove this side of me. I really am selfish." She admitted.

"Yeah… But I liked that side of you and it saved me twice so… thank you." He muttered, earning her a quick blush as she slightly moved away from his gaze to hide her embarrassment. For some reason, she felt her heart beat faster than it should after hearing his statement from him.

She was quite confused but she let it slide off as they enjoyed their company together in this dark and silent room without all the problems that weigh their hearts down. Silence returned once again onto the atmosphere as the night progresses on.

Sayla rested silently from his bed with Natsu still sitting beside her. His hand pressed onto her left hand as the pinkette whispered something to her.

"Will you promise me something, Sayla?" Although he thought she was already fast asleep, he didn't bother continuing his whisper to her.

"Will you stay by my side from now on?" His voice was faint but she could clearly hear it all from the other side as the dragonslayer simply laid his head down beside the bed and eventually slept peacefully for the first time in five days.

A few minutes passed and Sayla silently shifted her body next to him and simply stared at him with a relieved smile. She gently placed her right hand onto her left one and finally answered.

"Yes, Natsu… Now and always…" She whispered right back as she saw his peaceful face and eventually closed her eyes as well to sleep. Their hands held together as they finally slept away from the troubles of the world.

The cold breeze swept pass the room along with the grace of the curtains as the night continued on to the world, slowly embracing the new tomorrow.

The warmth of their hands comforted each other and the feelings they felt through each other were kept close to their hearts.

..

..

* * *

 ** _Three days later…_**

After her first recovery, Sayla was able to get enough rest to get herself back to normal. The first two days were kinda hectic because Natsu had to keep insisting her to rest while he would do all the things by himself at that time.

Of course, she didn't like being treated like a little kid just because she was still weak at the moment but Natsu would keep on urging her to rest rather than help him gather supplies and prepare for their next trip as well. She couldn't understand his persistence but as time passed, she eventually returned back to normal.

Natsu just went out for a job to earn jewels without informing the demon girl about it. She sat on a chair with a very impatient look on her face after learning of the situation.

"That Natsu… I told him already that I'm all better now. Why is he still treating me like an old person?" She mumbled with pouted face as she sits impatiently from her chair, waiting for him to come back.

The room was quite spacious enough for her to roam around but it is not enough to keep her away from her boredom.

"Muuuoooo! He's taking too long!" Eventually, her patience ran out as she scrambled on her feet and heads to the door.

Unexpectedly, the door opened just she was about to turn the knob and her eyes gazed at the pinkette right in front of her with a bag of jewels right on his shoulder. They gazed at each other for a moment until-

"Are you going out by any chance, Sayla?" As if she could tell by his expression as his voice slightly turned into suspicion after being caught in the open.

She thought about whistling her way out from her excuses.

"W-Well, that's- I mean… Uhhh, I was about to… A-Anyways, what took you so long?!" She screamed embarrassingly.

"W-What? I only took a job to get us some jewels. It was pretty easy though." He reasoned.

"And here I though you hated lying… What was that about not lying anymore?" She teased.

"Well you did lie to me before so I had to make it even." He returned the favour which ultimately caused her to look away with a displeased face.

"It was only one time…" She voiced out in defense as Natsu sighed for a moment before eventually earning a smile towards her and began to speak again.

"Anyways, I've finished the job and we got enough jewels so you don't need to head out for more supplies."

"Are you making me stay here again?" She asked doubtfully.

"No, we're heading out." He spoke.

"Why?"

"There's a patrol of Council guards in town so we need to get away as soon as possible." He revealed.

"That's strange… The Council has been destroyed a few months back. It shouldn't be possible for them to get back on their feet that quick." She assumed.

"Well, news about them hiring the other remaining Wizards Saint like the Four Gods of Ishgar spread like wildfire so I'm not that all surprised with them finally getting back…" He paused.

"…Plus, there's also someone in town that I don't wanna see." Hearing that one sentence made her frown all of a sudden.

"What's wrong?"

"That doesn't matter now. Come on, we got a long day ahead of us and we should start by getting away from this place as far as we can." He replied as he prepared to gather all their things which she does the same.

After a few minutes, they scrambled down to the street with them putting on their cloaks as they silently walked away from the inn without much of an attention. They carried their things and carefully waded through the crowd and eventually made it to the town's exit.

They stopped for a moment as Natsu looked at the road before him. Sayla looked at him in confusion as he saw him drew a deep breath before looking back at her with a reassuring smile.

"Let's go."

"Mmmm." With a brief nod, they finally stepped out into the road once again but not before long he took a brief glance and saw a blonde mage and a flying blue Exceed right beside her, asking the nearby townsfolk for someone.

There is nothing he can do for them anymore. The path he'd chosen is now set onto his future. The truth behind his connection with Zeref must be kept only to himself. This time, he will abandon the people whom he cared for all these years. He will abandon the guild that he cared for all his heart.

Even though it hurts, he will have to keep pushing forward… for the day when the final battle begins between him and the Black Mage approaches.

That's the only thing he must do.

Returning his gaze back to the road, the two disappeared into distance.

* * *

A couple of hours had passed and the two managed to get far from their last destination as they settled in for a moment in the forest to rest. Even though they're demons, they still need to take a break or two since they've been travelling nonstop since back at the town.

It was already afternoon and the sun was about set once again, bringing in the orange-filled sky from above with darkness slowly creeping from behind. The two settled their camp at an open field away from the road in order to hide from the travellers.

"So where are we going exactly by the way? I know it's a bit too late to ask but we've been traveling all over Fiore almost blindly." Sayla asked. She was expecting a concrete answer from him until his face drew a somewhat confusing thought after that question.

"Hmm, now that you said it, I honestly don't know." He admitted.

"So you don't know where you heading?"

"Pretty much."

"Master, you must have an objective to finding a specific location if we're ever going to move forward from now on." She scolded.

"Well, doing some jobs from local guilds isn't a bad thing. We can get jewels to keep ourselves well fed, you know." He added.

"That's not the kind of objective we need. I'm talking about our pursuit on Zeref." At that moment, Natsu immediately fell silent in which she regretted mentioning something like that.

The dragonslayer took some deep thought about that topic as well as he looked at his arms with different markings seen around it. He didn't actually noticed the markings even after his fight with END since he was focused on Sayla.

She was about to set aside the topic until Natsu spoke.

"Now that you think about it… I think we should put more attention to that guy. We haven't seen in the last couple of months and it would be bad if he'd appeared out of nowhere and attacked us." He pondered.

"I see no reason why Zeref would do that but I guess that's a possibility… But are you sure about this?" She turned towards him with worry.

"What do you mean?"

"It's Zeref we're talking about here. I don't know what happened between you two but you've been acting really strange whenever we talk about him."

"It's nothing to worry about. He's the reason why we're like this. If he wants to die, we'll just have to give him one. Right now, I think we should try and train ourselves if we're ever going to confront him in the future." He said with determination.

"That's a good start… I hate to admit but I can't win even against Bahamut in my current state." She bit her lip in frustration.

"All the more reason to train then, right?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, that's settled. We can begin our training later at night after we finish setting up the camp. We need to prepare ourselves and get stronger in order to defeat him once and for all." He declared.

Sayla could only nod in determination as they both resumed their previous ventures and eventually started to set up their camp to proceed to their training.

.

.

.

Another few hours had passed and the night finally descended to Earthland once again, bringing in the cold breeze of the wind and the creatures of the night.

Situated in an isolated field inside the forest, Natsu and Sayla stood in front of each other with the latter checking in her powers to see if she is well enough to use her curse once more. Despite having to recover quickly in three days, she still suffers pain all over her body whenever she tried using her strongest spells.

It will take at least another week for her to fully recover since she lacked Ethernano particles to replenish her powers. The concentration of such particles in the area is also weak so she'll have to take a long way.

While Natsu on the other hand, simply stood in anticipation as he looked over to his arms where the markings are and saw its different structure. The one on his right bears a somewhat dragon-like marking that he used back in his fight with his inner demon.

The left however is somewhat unknown to him. The marking itself was entirely different from his right as it features intricate patterns of unknown origins. It also stretches far out to his left shoulder, unlike from his right counterpart.

"Are you ready?" Sayla soon asked.

"Yeah."

"Right now, I think we should start with some small lectures."

"Come on…! Not with the lectures!" Natsu groaned lazily but she insisted.

"You must understand more about curses, Natsu. Even though you gained full control over it, having one single mistake will eventually turn your own curse against you. This is entirely different from magic so you should listen to this." She reminded.

Natsu reluctantly agreed, knowing how serious she was in explaining these things to him.

"As I said before, curses grow stronger at the presence of all negative emotions from the hearts of men. It is one thing that curses boasts over magic. Looking at a perspective, if you faced Zeref with a lot of people watching, negative emotions like fear and despair manifest in their hearts. Our curses grow ever stronger by having these emotions on them."

"Are you saying that we need to gather a lot of people in one place until he appears… Wouldn't that endanger all of the people involved?" He asked.

"Unfortunately, that is the only flaw that curses have in this kind of method. You will now understand why Tartaros back then, targeted the Magic Council and caused a huge panic all over the country." She revealed.

"I see… So in that method, you managed to amplify your curses to boost your advantage."

"W-Well, that was me before but I'm not suggesting we should do it. I mean, we promised not to harm any more humans from now on, right?" She reasoned.

"I know… And don't worry about it, I don't blame you for everything that happened back then. It's all in the past. The true one is right in front of me. That is enough for me." He smiled, earning her a slight blush as Sayla instinctively gazed away at him for a moment with an embarrassed face.

"W-W-Well, if you say so then I won't argue… A-Anyways, it's not like the curses are useless. I'm sure you've heard about the Etherious Form." She replied which then turned the pinkette to ponder for a bit.

"Etherious Form?"

"Yep… Like magic, curses also have their strongest form. We call it the Etherious Form. This form lets us release our limiters and use our powers to its fullest potential without any fear of losing any strength for long periods of time." She explained as he listened carefully to her words.

"The form can actually last long except when the demon was knocked unconscious. It is one of the advantages of the curses since it lets you tap into your fullest potential without having the need to revert back to normal."

"So it stays permanently?" He asked.

"Depends on how you intend to use it for a long time. It does not give you strain like magic does when used for long periods of time… For us, the Etherious Form is our one last trump card. You should use it when the situation calls for it."

"I see… So do you know anything about these markings on my arms?" He proceeds in showing the markings as Sayla walked over it and examined its structure.

"I don't know much about the markings on your right hand but your left one is similar to that of the Etherious race. I think you should try testing out your powers to see for yourself." She proposed.

"That's a good idea."

Sayla moved away in front of him and stood on the side as Natsu turned his gazed over to the deep forest and simply drew a deep breath to concentrate his power. He closed his eyes for a moment and his body eventually glowed in dark crimson red as the pressure of his magic and curse was felt by over a mile.

Sayla could only widen her eyes in surprise at such power. She could even assume that the pinkette was not using his strongest forms yet. For him to generate such immense pressure without a sweat clearly gives him the title of the strongest Etherious.

As soon as he released a small portion of his powers, Natsu opened his eyes and immediately stretched his right arm before a large swirl of dark red flames surrounded his fist.

And in just a few seconds, he finally shouted his spell.

 **"Demonic Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"** Thrusting his fist forward, Natsu released a huge stream of flames before him which soon emits a massive fiery explosion, blowing everything back in just a couple of seconds as the flames incinerated everything and left a huge scorching land that is filled with nothing but embers and scorched trees.

The destruction went as far as a few kilometres away as Sayla gaped in shock at its power. A spell like that is enough to obliterate a city. And Natsu wasn't even going at his fullest. It shows just how much devastating his magic and curse combined altogether.

She couldn't even comprehend if he used his Etherious Form as of now. She couldn't imagine the destruction and the pressure she might feel in that scenario.

"U-Unbelievable… What power…" She stuttered in awe as the immense tremor finally faded and revealed the aftermath.

Natsu was also shocked as well at the display of his power just now. He tried combining his magic and curse just to see how much he can damage the forest but he didn't expect it to be this devastating. He wasn't even serious of pouring out all of his power in it.

He better watch out from using his power from now on.

"Whoa… I can't believe it." He muttered in surprise as he looked at his hands in utter shock as Sayla went over to him to observe his power.

"The flames of a dragon and the flames of the demon combined together… Two beings that defined destruction and despair. You were the first ever person to wield two powers from two great beings in this world. No wonder why Zeref wanted you to kill him." She replied.

Despite the praise, Natsu simply continued on staring at his hand for a moment before releasing a nonchalant sigh.

"It's not enough…"

"Eh?"

"It's not enough for him."

"Him? Who are you referring to?" She asked quizzically.

"Acnologia…" He muttered which then shocked Sayla after hearing the name of the dragon that is both feared by all in his name.

"Acnologia?"

"Yeah. He's the reason of the death of my father. Despite all this power in me, I cannot protect anyone if I cannot defeat him with my own powers…"

"… I can't protect everyone like this, even you Sayla. That's why I can't stop here. I'll have to keep getting stronger until I can finally surpass him and protect the ones I cared." He declared.

"Natsu…" She trailed off in thought.

"Well, at least that's what my purpose right now. What about you, Sayla?"

"What about me?"

"I mean, what is your purpose of fighting? I know it's a bit late for asking but I want to know what you're fighting for."

"What I'm fighting for…?" Her words trailed off in deep thought after being asked such a question.

Come to think of it, she never had a good reason to fight in the first place. All she'd done until now is to help her Master and learn the life of the humans that she once despised. She never had a clear reason to fight Zeref and only forced herself to tag along with him.

It made her question her very existence for a bit.

What is she fighting for exactly?

What is her purpose for doing so? Those question jumbled inside her mind as she tried to find an answer to all of it.

Thinking her memories back at the time where both of them met for the first time. The first thing that her heart wanted to do is to follow him and fulfill the purpose of Tartaros. But all of that changed when he showed her the ways of life. The good things of having human emotions. And the lessons that she learned from him.

The great value of friendship and caring for someone. And also his acceptance towards her despite being a demon.

Those are the things that made her change. The precious moments she'd spent with him without any troubles weighing them down. The pain and determination to overcome their fears are what changed her heart.

The feelings that she had yet to understand are nothing to what she had back when she was still in Tartaros.

Just by him alone and his actions, gave her life another new meaning.

The smile that she adored, the warmth that she enjoyed and the memories that she cherished inside her heart. It was all there.

It didn't take long for her to realize her answer as she looked at the person in front of her.

That's right…

The answer is the person right in front of her.

With a smile plastered on her face, she inched closer to him, slowly holding his hand and gazed up at his face with her cheeks flushed red.

"My answer… is you." Her words trailed off like a whisper as Natsu heard her voice clearly with a extremely surprised look.

"S-Sayla…" Her reply somehow caused him to blush as he looked awkwardly at her, trying to avoid her gaze as she continued to look at him with a gentle smile that clearly erased everything about her. And instead, replaced by an image of girl in front of him, showing her true feelings.

"It took me a lot to realize that my answer is already here in front of me… You're my reason of living, Natsu. You're my reason of fighting. And you're the reason why I can do my best over everything…"

"…I wanted to walk side by side with you. That's the only thing that I wanted in this world. Nothing more." She finished.

"Sayla…"

"I can't quite understand this feeling inside me but… perhaps if I continue to live alongside with you, I might realize them some day."

There's still much more she wanted to experience and she knew that if she continued to walk beside him in this journey, she will eventually understand these feelings inside her heart. The fuzzy feeling that she always felt whenever he's around is kinda pretty good.

If she wanted to be selfish for that matter, she wanted more of it.

On the other hand, Natsu tried his best to compose himself as his face blushed even further of her statement towards him. He didn't know how or when it started but for some reason he felt kinda weird just by having close to her. It's like he becomes self-conscious whenever she talks openly about her feelings although he still get confused on how she expresses towards him.

From what they are in right now, she finally expresses it again towards him which always makes him blush in the process. However, hearing her answer from his question simply made him smile in return.

Hoping to change the topic, Natsu spoke once again.

"I see… A-Anyways, I wanted to ask about your powers. Are you sure you wanted to use your powers right now?" He asked awkwardly. His face is still blushing from that seemingly close approach of their faces earlier.

Fortunately, Sayla also followed through his questions and decided to answer, quickly forgetting the awkward atmosphere around them earlier.

"Yes… Even though I'm still recovering, I wanted to test out my Macro since I haven't used it for a long time."

"Alright but if it's too much, don't push too hard, okay?"

Sayla nodded as she proceeded to use her Macro once again. Moments later, small debris from the blast levitated but only for a moment as the pain on her body returned just as she used her curse. She winced in pain as she knelt down and held her right shoulder, prompting the pinkette to rush towards her in worry.

"Sayla! Are you okay?!" He took her hand to help her back up as the girl looked at him with a bitter smile.

"Well, I guess I'm not fully recovered just yet… It seems like my body still needs to collect more Ethernano particles for now before I could use them again." She revealed.

"Is there any way we can do give you those thingies without waiting?" He asked expectantly but Sayla simply shook her head sideways as they both drew a slight frown in the process.

However-

"A-Actually, there's one way to help me regain some of those particles in a fast rate." She mumbled in which he heard in the process but for some reason, her tone of voice sounded embarrassed.

"Really?"

"B-But I don't think you're going to like it."

"Please don't tell me, we don't have to go inside our minds and fight whatever things inside."

"N-No, it's not like that at all! I mean, I don't think we might agree with this method anyways." She frantically replied as she flings her arms widely in denial to reassure him.

"What kind of method is it anyways?" He asked doubtfully. His eyes focused on the demon girl in anticipation as she hesitates to reply back to him about this method.

For her to act like this, he must've thought that method is somehow much dangerous to the previous one.

After a few seconds of hesitation, she finally spoke.

"W-We… need… t… ug… ach… other." Her sentence sounded cut in between due to her mumbling sounds as Natsu tilted his head in confusion, trying to guess the meaning behind her words.

"We need to what?"

"W-We need to hug each other…" She muttered as her face immediately rose up in embarrassment after that statement.

"That's it? I thought it was going to be a lot harder than before but it was just a hug-" Natsu reassured but Sayla simply continued.

"It's not like that, Natsu… Y-You see, Etherious beings had been created with Ethernano particles which in this case, you and I contained a lot of them since we can use our curses in the process. And since my body is lacking Ethernano particles as of now, I should wait until my body gathers enough of them or share some of them from another Etherious." She explained.

"I see… And since we're both Etherious, you want me to give some of those particles to you in order to get back to normal without having to wait, is that right?" He analysed.

Sayla meekly nodded at his reply.

"Well, I guess there's no wasting time then. All we need to do is to hug each other and let the transfer do its work, right?"

"I-It's not that simple, Natsu."

"Why? What do you mean not simple?"

"W-We have to… be naked while h-h-hugging each other." As she utter those words, a moment of silence falls between them as Natsu felt dumbfounded in the process.

.

..

…

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?!" And in just like that, Natsu gaped in utter shock as his face immediately rose up in embarrassment as soon as he understood the meaning behind her words.

"W-What do you mean by being naked while hugging?! I don't get it!" He proceeds to ask her with his face still flushed red. Sayla on the other hand, also had the same expression as she tried to explain the situation.

"It's not like that! I-I mean, we're only doing it with our top. I'm not talking about getting full naked! Y-You see, the center of concentration of our Ethernano is located on our chest so if w-we hug each other in that way, the transfer will have a higher chance of success." She stuttered as she can't seem to continue explaining the method directly to him.

"But still… getting naked is kinda... I-I mean, I'm talking about you, Sayla." He looked at her in anticipation.

"I-I don't mind if it has to be you…" She whispered unknowingly which only made him blush even further.

"A-Are you really sure about that?"

"I-I'm sure… I believe in you, Natsu." Despite her embarrassment, she managed to put a reassuring smile towards him.

Another moment of silence went past between them as Natsu gulped nervously for a moment as he looked at the shy demon girl before her. Her hands pressed on chest as her head shifted sideways in deep thought. For a second, she looked pretty lady-like in that angle. The horns on her head looms a shadow along with her figure as the moonlight shone bright in the night sky.

It was then, she slowly turned her gaze back to him.

"A-Anyways, it was just a suggestion for regaining back my powers at an early time. I-If it's too much of a bother, we can always wait until I-" Before she could even finish her statement, Natsu cut her off.

"Let's do it!" With a firm answer, Sayla looked at him with a dumbfounded expression.

"Eh?"

"If it helps you get back your powers, I will do it, no matter what method it is. As long as I can help you regain your powers." He declared, surprising her for a moment.

"Natsu…"

"I-I mean, you said you were fine with it as long as it has to be me, right? Then, I wouldn't mind doing it either with you." He reassured which caused her to blush again in the process.

"So… it's okay to do it. All we need is to hug each other, right?"

"Y-Yeah…"

"Well, let's get started then!" With that reply, the two momentarily turned away from each other as the silence filled the atmosphere around them.

They silently undressed their top, leaving them semi-naked in the process as they both flushed red in their cheeks just by having themselves naked and close to each other. Sayla placed both her hands in front of her breasts to prevent her from seeing it.

She never once tried such a method or even strip naked in front of someone since she never needed it back when she still had Tartaros but now…

She never thought that such a thing would happen to her right now. Not like she hated it or anything. She was just unprepared to do these sort of things especially to her Master.

As soon as they got their top clothes off, Sayla began to speak from behind.

"Are you done?"

"Y-Yeah…" Natsu answered with a stutter as they both slowly turned around and faced each other once again.

Their eyes briefly landed on each other as Natsu tried to keep a straight face although it was notable that his cheeks were blushing red until he looked away for a moment. Sayla set her gaze down to her feet, unable to look at him directly as she could feel the loud beat on her heart at this moment.

With enough courage, she slowly lifted her head and straightened her gaze towards his figure. It was then, her eyes widened in shock after seeing multiple scars all over it.

In an instant, her embarrassment turned into worry after seeing those.

"N-Natsu… Those wounds."

As soon as she spoke, he looked back at her with reassurance.

"Ah, this… I got all this from my fight from END. I don't know how I got this since I fought him inside my mind but I guess it happened just like that."

"I-Is that so?" She replied, not forgetting the fact that she still semi-naked together with him.

"Well leaving that aside, a-are you ready, Sayla?" He asked while looking away.

"Of course but-" She paused.

"-please look at me, Natsu."

The dragonslayer hesitated but eventually he slowly turned his gaze back to her and finally saw her naked figure for the first time. The light of the moon shone from behind her slender body, giving her a somewhat pale skin at that angle as she continued to cover her breasts with her arms. Her gaze is drawn to his face which makes it hard for him to look straight back at her.

He was never good at staring at someone in such a long time, especially when the person is a girl and also naked on the top.

Remembering his task, he then slowly proceed to close their distance from each other and hug her.

"Here goes." With his eyes close, he goes in for the hug as he stretched his arms wide to embrace until-

A soft pair of arms wrapped themselves first around his neck, prompting him to open his eyes and saw Sayla embracing him freely. His cheeks suddenly rose up in heat as he felt a pair of soft mounds below his chest as she unrestricted her arms and simply hugged him without showing any signs of embarrassment.

"S-Sayla."

Their bodies touched each other as they both felt the warmth that kept them cozy from the cold night. Natsu could feel a small portion of his power being transferred to her as they stayed like that for a few minutes, unmoving from their positions.

His hands were still stretched but as soon as she slowly closes the distance on both their faces, he wrapped his arms towards her as well.

It was then, he remembered it.

"Ne, Sayla, can you… promise me something?"

"Of course."

 _"Will you stay by my side from now on?"_

He felt like he wanted to say it differently but he wanted her to ask this because he wanted to make sure. He wanted to know her answer as well, not knowing that she was asked once during his sleep.

As soon as she heard that, only a smile was seen on her face as she looked at him with a soft gaze, her arms continue to wrap closer as their faces were now only a mere inches away from each other.

Without even wasting a second after his reply, she finally spoke.

" _Yes, Natsu… Now and always."_ With the same answer that she gave to him back then, she finally closed the tiny distance from their faces as the two silently joined their lips together in the moonlight.

The pinkette never offered any resistance as he too, closed the distance between them as he placed his hands behind her back to get her close to him.

With darkness as its only witness, they first shared their kiss on the shining moonlight.

* * *

 **A/N: And here's the new bonus chapter for you guys. Hope you like it. I'm sorry for not posting the next real chapter of the last one but I wanted to flesh out the development between the two since this story is categorized with Romance so that's that. Oh, but don't worry, I'll be getting to the continuation of the arc as soon as I finished this.**

 **The flashback chapter will only contain two chapters and then we'll go back to the arc. Until then, enjoy the fluff and romance and some little twists that will connect to the timeskip as well.**

 **Anyways, leave a comment and tell me what you think. I appreciate it. I'll be temporarily postponing all other stories until I can finish the next two chapters so I'll apologize in advance. For those who were asking me about Two Dragons' update, I got the chapter ready but my beta reader is yet to return the file to it's going to take a lot of time for me to update. I was also working on chapter 26 by the way so you can expect the next two chapters to be posted in the future. Until then, patience.**

 **Thanks for reading and I'll see you guys later…**

 **\- wiErD SpeCtrumz blacking out… … …**


	12. Memoirs Pt 2

**A/N: Sup guys, wiErD here and I've got another chapter for you all. This one features some of the events before the time skip after the ritual of Natsu's confrontation against END. And also some twists and fluffs for the pairing of course so let's get started.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for my plots. Everything else is owned by Hiro Mashima. Support the official release.**

* * *

 **\- Memoirs Pt. 2 –**

Sun rose up from the mountains as the new morning started its course. Darkness retreated from the corner as the world welcomes the morning light. Different animals went out from their habitats and roamed the wilds freely once again.

Towns and cities opened up again and the people simply began their daily lives.

Natsu flickered his eyes open as the sunlight penetrated through the thick branches of the trees above him. The warm greeting of the morning slowly drained his doziness as his senses adjusted themselves to his surroundings.

Sitting his body up straight, he rubbed his eyes for a moment to shake off his sleepiness. After a few seconds, he glanced back and found a bedroll laid underneath him. His memories were a bit groggy at the moment due to his heavy sleep.

He took a few more seconds to get his body grow familiar with his surroundings.

 _'Damn it, I'm still not up to it.'_

His set his gaze around his surroundings to get a better look at his current position. It seems like he was back at the campsite but there is still something missing.

He racked his brain for a moment until a moment of realization eventually ushered him awake.

 _'That's right! Sayla!'_

He spun around to look around as his eyes finally stopped on the sleeping girl beside him. She had a separate bedroll next to him and it seemed like they both slept close to each other.

A faint sigh of relief escaped from his mouth as he found her safe and sound at least. He didn't know how he became this protective of her but it seems like it does not matter to him anymore. It was as if her very existence has become part of this new life of his.

After all, she is his one and only ally this time.

He looked down on his chest and unexpectedly found himself semi-naked in the process. At first, he was confused at how he came to be naked on top in the first place until a moment of silence reigned down on him as his brain tried to remember anything that happened last night.

 _'Strange… I don't recall undressing last night.'_

He sat there for a minute until his memories kicked back almost instantly and immediately caused him to blush.

..

..

He remembered it all.

All their conversations from last night flashed back into his mind, going all the way back to his question and eventually to that one part where they kissed each other.

He didn't know how or why he did it but it seemed like both of them wanted it to happen. More specifically, she started it first and he just accepted it in return.

Well, how could he possibly back out from such an approach? They were both naked on their top and doing some ritual to transfer his energy to her by simply hugging each other. More importantly, he was the one who got themselves in that situation after asking her a rather personal question from him.

As soon as he recalled that, his mind immediately calmed down. He turned his eyes once more towards the sleeping demon girl beside him.

Sayla slept with her face facing him as the dark strands of her hair scattered gracefully from the other side. He could hear her faint breaths as she continued to sleep peacefully in her bedroll. The horns on her head were safely cushioned by the pillow beneath her head.

Birds chirped loudly from the background but that wasn't enough to wake her up as Sayla rested silently without worrying about the troubles that lie ahead of them.

Natsu moved his hand over to her face as he fixed her loose strands that somewhat obscure her face and drew a smile afterward.

Even for a demon, she could be quite careless during her sleep.

As he lifted away some of her strands back to her side, her body instinctively reacted a little bit as soon as his hand touches her skin in the process. Sayla faintly smiled as if she found comfort from the moment he touched her face.

Of course, Natsu was surprised by it but he simply released another smile once more before slowly retracting his hand away and looked back to the morning sun shining brightly above him.

The slow gusts of wind blew past the trees, swaying the branches around and ruffling the leaves as it creates the sound of nature.

He slowly stood up from his bedroll and gave himself a few stretches to finally shave off the final bits of his doziness and went on for a stroll further to the forest.

The morning dew is seen over the mountains as Natsu trudged aimlessly towards the forest. Eventually, he found a small river just a few meters away from him, prompting him to head towards it and rest for a moment.

The water is clear enough to see its depth and tiny schools of fish are seen swimming against the current which makes it a perfect spot to haul some food for breakfast. If Happy was here with him, he would bring two or three fishing poles just to get the most of it.

 _'Come to think of it, I haven't seen yet the place where I used my spell at.'_

He thought out in realization as he soon began to head out once again to locate it exact location. Thankfully enough, his senses tracked the path back to the campsite as he followed it afterward in order to get himself ready soon for today.

He can't stand around for too long and they both need to get some job requests in order to gain some jewels.

..

..

As he traced his tracks back to the campsite, Natsu immediately came to a full stop as he found the area where he used his very own spell last night to show his powers located on his left. He changed his directions and eventually went over to take a look at it.

As soon as he made it through the thick bushes, his eyes have finally set onto the scorched landscape, stretching as far as several kilometers that somehow reached into the side of the mountain just in front of it.

Trees were simply burnt and uprooted and left only a few dead plants who miraculously withstand the heat and force of the blast. The landscape was hardly any similar to the green pasture surrounding it as the land itself was simply devoid of life.

The ground was level several meters deep and a huge crater is seen at the far end of it where the spell eventually exploded and simmered down on the process. Embers were already put out since last night and only small patches of smoke can be seen as of now.

Natsu looked at his hands in uncertainty.

With all this power inside him, he feared of its tremendous power. He feared that he might come to harm someone if he used this power carelessly, especially to anyone that is close to him.

 _'No, no… I can't feel pathetic at a time like this… If I just kept on worrying over something like this, I won't be able to protect her or anyone.'_

He shook off the disturbing thought inside his head and simply clenched his fist before giving the scorched land one last glance.

After that, he went back to the camp.

..

..

..

A few hours already passed after his little stroll towards the forest as the sun had finally risen up through the sky, bringing its blinding light over the landscape. Natsu eventually made his way back to the camp and simply lifted his hand to shield his eyes from its rays.

He smiled a bit towards the scenery before making his way further to the camp and found the other bedroll empty.

"Good morning, Natsu."

Before he could even look for the demon girl, a familiar voice whispered in his ear, causing him to jump out in instinct and set his eyes onto the now fully awake Sayla in front of him.

"D-Don't just go around and surprise me like that, Sayla!" He stuttered as his hands were raised instinctively in defense but lowered it down afterward as soon as he managed to calm down. "Hmm? I just came to greet you. I didn't mean to surprise you like that." She pondered innocently.

Meanwhile, Natsu noticed her bright attitude in the face of the morning. It seems like something good must've happened to her although he doesn't what it is.

"Hey, Sayla."

"Yes, Natsu?"

"Did something happen earlier while I'm gone? You look more... umm... lively than usual." He scratched his head sheepishly as he can't seem to find any appropriate words to describe her behavior as of now.

"Nothing in particular except that I got my powers working again last night because of–" She froze as soon as her memories went back from last night.

Judging from her sudden reaction, it seems like she just recently realized what she did to him last night. Moreover, her cheeks immediately rose up in beet red as soon as she found herself standing next to him.

The dragonslayer also shared the same reaction after hearing it from her. An awkward silence reigned down between them until he tried to break off the silent atmosphere between them.

"H-Hey, don't think too much about it. It wasn't your fault! I-I mean, I also..." He trailed off from his sentence, wanting to cheer her up.

"It was my fault too! I didn't mean to... you know." Her voice weakened at the end of her statement as she tried to keep her cheeks from flushing red but failed to do so and could only look sideways while avoiding his gaze at the same time.

A small sigh escaped from the pinkette's lips as he managed to calm himself first and looked at her directly with a reassuring smile.

"Well, it's not like I have a problem with it. I think by now that I kinda felt happy when you did it. Plus, I was the one who asked you a bothersome question."

"It was not a bother to me at all, Natsu! It's just that... this is all new to me–I mean, I never tried like this with someone, especially to my Master..." She made a cute pout at the end of her sentence which only made him chuckle a bit before replying.

"This doesn't have to do with me as your Master... I'm just me, you know."

"If you're still beginning to experience it, you just have to take it slow and go on one thing at a time, right?" He made his toothy grin which causes her to look at him in wonder.

"Natsu..."

"W-Well that is... if you're fine just having me as your partner in that sort of thing. I still don't know if you really like me that way so–" He stopped in his sentence as Sayla clung into one of his arms to cut him off.

"I do! I-I really do so... you don't need to say anything like that. I'm happy if that person is you, Natsu." She buried her head close to his chest to which he could only do nothing but slowly wrap his arms around her figure and comfort her.

"Alright. I won't say anything."

After that, the two simply stood on there, unmoving as they felt each other's warmth once again and enjoyed it.

..

..

After a few seconds, they broke away from the hug as they both recomposed each other as Natsu still held his hands on her shoulders. His eyes gazed on the slightly teary-eyed demon girl before him. He didn't even notice that she cried during that time.

"Feeling better?"

"Mmm." She nodded in response as she wiped her tears away and replaced it with a heartwarming smile towards him.

"Welcome back, Natsu."

The dragonslayer returned with his very own toothy grin before remembering something that he should've said to her awhile back.

"Oh, I forgot to mention something. I should've told you this last night."

"What is it?" Sayla asked curiously as she slightly leaned close to him but was only taken aback as Natsu suddenly closed their distance from each other and reached in for another kiss that completely shocked her in the process.

Their lips connected once more but it felt different from what it was before. It felt more passionate and their hidden feelings were expressed in this one passionate kiss.

Natsu slowly leaned back after a few seconds. His face devoid with embarrassment as he looked at the rather blushing demon girl in front of him with a confident bright smile.

"I love you, Sayla. I love you not as your Master but as a person." He expressed his feelings openly to her though she found it hard to reply right away due to her growing embarrassment after witnessing what happened just now between the two of them.

"N-N-N-Natsu?!" She continuously stuttered as her eyes focused on the pinkette and rethink all the words he said to her earlier.

For a moment, she managed to recompose herself just to answer to his statement.

"Natsu, I... there's still a lot of feelings that I don't understand yet but... if you say it like that, then there's no reason for me to hide it any further." Taking hold of both of his hands on her own, she closed her eyes and let her feelings open up to him.

"I love you, too. I will be right beside you until the very end. It's a promise that I will keep for the two of us."

"Sayla..."

She could feel her heart beat faster by each second as she uttered those words. Despite the atmosphere between them, she couldn't keep her embarrassment any further as her face shadowed and her body shook in awkwardness.

"So... so... so... so..."

"Hmm?"

.

..

...

"SO DON'T GO RUNNING OUT ALONE WITHOUT ME!"

With a flustered face, she yelled to which she activated her Macro by accident and simply controlled the pinkette's body and flung him down to the ground, creating a miniature crater in the process.

"Gaaaaaaaaah-" Natsu comically in pain as he felt his body being pushed down by her curse while still having his hands held onto hers which stretched as soon as his body was sent down to the ground below him.

"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to use it. I'm really really sorry, Natsu!" Sayla eventually realized her mistake as she saw a cloud of dust in front of her and looked down at her feet and saw the downed pinkette.

"I-It's alright, Sayla. I'm used in getting beat up anyways." He managed to give her a thumbs-up, indicating that he's alright but Sayla insisted on tending to his scratches.

Well, he guessed that even demons couldn't control their powers if they experienced strong emotions such as her.

But at least, he saw another cute side of her.

* * *

After helping each other out in the camp, the two eventually began their training. With Sayla finally back into normal after getting some Ethernano particles from Natsu, they're both ready to train their bodies and become stronger.

They needed to get stronger in order to confront Zeref in the near future as it is their destiny to kill him in order for them to be free from his clutch.

Sayla started her training by lifting out multiple large trees around her to strengthen the power of her Macro. Not just living trees, she also started to lift out heavy boulders and other inanimate objects around them as well.

Natsu could only look in awe every time she focuses all her curse on carrying such large and heavy stuff. Not only that, she even started to use her Macro on the ground to cover the scorched land that he made last night by burying it with soil and dirt around it.

Judging from her powers, she could literally move anything but she has yet to fully utilize her powers when it comes to inanimate objects.

"So you can't move things efficiently unlike from living beings?" He asked as he found interest in her powers.

Apparently, they took a small break from their training and started to talk about their powers.

"Well, my Macro doesn't naturally work well on inanimate objects in the first place. Telekinesis magic is more suited to that kind of thing but it's somehow similar to mine. My curse works on submitting the body of one living being to me thus, granting me full control of it no matter how strong the will of the user is. But as you can see, the curse can only work if I'm not disturbed in the process so there's a chance the victim can break free from my hold if I was interrupted." She explained.

"I see... So in other words, you can utilize your powers if only you're concentrated on it. Is that the reason why you can easily access control on my body earlier?" He asked.

"Yup."

"That's pretty powerful."

"That's right though it still had its flaws, you know. But if I continue to train myself, I might be able to fix that problem soon. As well as my inefficient use towards inanimate objects."

"That's good... Well, we should return back to our training soon. We still have more room for improvement. We can't let this opportunity go to waste. We must use it and keep getting stronger!" With a determined pump fist, Natsu smiled wide to which she nodded in response from his statement.

They both stood up and began their separate training sessions as Sayla returned to her lifting of debris from the scorched landscape while Natsu continued in examining all the different forms of his power.

Apparently, he has now both control of his demon and dragon powers. Shifting them and using them with unique combinations alongside with his other forms would surely improve his fighting chance almost on any opponent.

Not only that, he can freely access into his Dragon Force and Etherious Form which is both the pinnacle of his two powers. Combining them is hard enough since using one of them could release so much magical pressure that it could be felt from far away.

He better limit himself to using them in order to keep themselves in the dark.

On the other hand, his right arm remains a mystery for him. The dragon marking placed on it had its similar features to that of his late foster father. He didn't know how but for some reason, Igneel was somehow managed to get to him in his fight with END and granted him this power.

 _'Igneel, huh... Good grief. Even in death, you still reach into me and give me a lot of courage all the time.'_

He smiled at the thought as he proceeds to stretch his right arm up front and closed his eyes.

Focusing his magic on releasing the dragon king's power, Natsu began to chant.

 **"Awaken, dragon of destruction... Let your rampage be recognized by the world and reclaim your title as the true dragon of fire."**

 **"Fire Dragon King Mode!"**

As soon as he finished his chant, large swirls of crimson flames surrounded the field around him which soon envelop the whole area.

"Crap! It's too powerful!" He shouted in panic as he released a significant amount of pressure around him that even Sayla could feel from the distance as flames erupted from the distance, prompting her to stop her training and head over to him.

"Natsu!"

With a desperate attempt to contain his power, Natsu lowered his right arm and clenched it with his other arm to lower its intensity. Now he knows why Gildarts couldn't even handle such a thing like holding back.

There's too much power he releases even though he tried it on a small amount.

Eventually, the flames circling him simmered down and left a circle of scorched land as a result. At the same time, Sayla arrived at the scene after feeling the immense pressure from him.

"Are you okay?" She stretched out a hand as she found him lying on his back.

"Y-Yeah, somehow." He replied as he stood once again with her help but not long before she began scolding him.

"I already told you not to use any of your strongest forms while training. You're creating a lot of attention even though we're far away from civilization." Her face was somewhat displeased but he could understand the reason behind it.

She was just worried for him.

"R-Right. I'm sorry... I never thought that the dragon marking could generate as much power as the other one." He admitted.

It took only a few seconds for her to calm down before releasing a relieved sigh.

"Well, I guess it can't be helped but now that you released it, we can't stay around here for too long."

"Y-Yeah..." Natsu proposed.

After their little predicament, the two immediately packed up and went on their way while also covering their tracks in order to prevent anyone from tracking them in the process.

* * *

It's been a few hours since then and the two had been traveling down on the desolate road in front of them. So far, things haven't been that bad since both of them had their share of conversations with each other to keep off the silence between them.

The sun moves slowly towards the west horizon as the sky was now dyed in orange color. The tall shadows loomed over to the trees from the distance and the clouds above form majestic patterns of thin layers that stretched far to the opposite side of the horizon.

"We're almost there in the next town. We can settle there for now and get some supplies by tomorrow." Natsu spoke as he pointed his hand over the distance where a small town is situated.

"Okay..." She answered with a rather tired look.

"Are you okay?"

"Y-Yeah... My body is not just used in traveling long distances since our guild moves around the country all the time." She admitted.

"I see... Well, I guess it can't be helped."

He placed down his small baggage and slowly went over to her before kneeling in front of her. Without giving her the time to do anything, he took hold of her legs and gently pushed her to his back and stood up once again to walk.

"N-Natsu! I'm fine. Y-You don't have to carry me all the way."

"Don't complain already. Just rest on my back, alright?"

Sayla was about to reply back but it seems like she had no choice but to comply with him and let herself be carried by him all the way to the town.

Natsu could feel the soft touch her breasts behind him but he easily ignores it and focused on holding her properly in order not to fall.

Silence fell before the two as he walked silently along the path while Sayla simply blushed as her head rested on his back, feeling his warm body. The small baggage is held on his shoulders as they approach the distant town.

"You know... you took care of me multiple times so let me return the same for you, Sayla. You can always come to me and share your problems with me. I'd be more willing to help you when that time comes so don't do things yourself, okay?" He suddenly spoke.

"Mmm... I will." She smiled as she gently rested her head on his back. A sudden wave of doziness hit her system as her eyes struggled to keep themselves open in the process.

"Your back... is always warm." She whispered as she slowly closed her eyes to sleep.

"I love it a lot..."

And in just like that, her sleepiness finally took over her and let her sleep peacefully on his back. Natsu smiled faintly and continued his way to the town.

..

..

Night descended and the people on the town returned back to their homes to sleep, leaving only a few that still continue their daily lives.

The town itself was rather small that it may consider it to be a village rather than a town if not for its stonework buildings. The town also doesn't have any guild representation which makes them a normal town apart from the towns and cities they visited.

With their hoods placed on their heads, they managed to get a room from a small inn. The old couple managing the place doesn't seem to feel suspicious despite them wearing cloaks to hide their identities. Plus, the town doesn't have any mages or Council guards patrolling the area but they still have to be cautious.

They must be prepared for anything that comes sooner or later.

They made their way upstairs and into their designated room to settle for the night. The room consisted of a small bed and nightstand along with a small table with a chair placed beside it. Space was cramped and the structure of the place seemed rather old, seeing it built in wood.

A window is seen on the left side of the door where they could see the silent town along with a few passers-by as the night progressed.

Sayla woke up and Natsu had settled her down to the bed in which she sat in the process, trying to alleviate her sleepiness.

"Oh, did I wake you?" Natsu asked as he moved over to their baggage to collect something.

"Not at all... I think I got enough rest." She reassured.

"Well, we'll be settling in this town for a bit. It seemed pretty defenseless and there's no sight of guards or anything."

"It seems like it too. I don't sense anyone here in town with magic." She agreed.

"All the more reason to stay here for awhile, right? Oh, and here." He handed out a potion to her.

"... Just in case you want to get around town tomorrow, you should conceal your horns instead of wearing the hood all the time, people might suspect us if we don't act like them."

Sayla nodded in response as she kept the potion inside her pocket and walked over to the window to take a good look around the small town. There weren't any tall buildings or fancy stores lying around, just only houses for the residents living in town.

The streets were now empty, devoid of any life as the lacrima lights shone brightly from the side to give some bystanders enough vision to walk around in the dark. Silence reigned down on the town as no sound was heard, except for the cool breeze of the wind and nature itself.

"This town is eerily quiet. Something is wrong." She mumbled.

Natsu tensed up as he began to feel uneasy as well.

He peered over to the window beside the wall and found no one outside. There is nothing to look at except for a few lacrima lights shining on the side of the streets. There were no signs of life and the unbearable silence is making them cautious of the town.

Normally, there would be few more people roaming around but for some reason, they're returned to their homes by some sort of an invisible force.

Moments later, a shadowy figure emerged from the shadows near at the entrance of the town. Natsu and Sayla prepared themselves in case the unknown figure tries to target them. Both of them could feel a strong pressure being released from the figure and they cannot simply let their guard down.

"Someone from the council?" She whispered.

"I don't know... If he tries to attack us, we shall respond in the same manner."

Sayla nodded as she continued to gaze at the approaching figure.

It walked silently to the streets without looking at any buildings around it as its gaze is set on the large building located at the center of town. The lights of the lacrima on the side, slowly reveals the figure as Natsu saw its tattered high-collared cloak concealing his very body.

However, one thing made him recognize the person completely.

The darkened orange hair and the immense power he felt in that figure simply made sense.

"I'll be out in a bit... Can you stay here for awhile, Sayla?"

"U-Uhhh, sure." She reluctantly agreed to his request as he silently left the room and made his way downstairs. He ignored the old couple hiding in their room as their eyes peered from the door as they watched him head out from the inn.

The dragonslayer walked towards the streets and eventually confronted the figure right in front of him who seemed to be expecting him from the start. He still had his hood on his head to conceal his face from him although the figure could easily tell the person right in front of him.

"I was a bit surprised to see it was you, Natsu." The figure chuckled nonchalantly.

"It's been awhile, Gildarts," Natsu replied in a low tone.

As soon as they uttered each other's names, a small wind blew past between them until Gildarts continued.

"How you've been?"

"Been better or worse. I lost count... I honestly didn't expect you to show up in a place like this." Natsu continued without raising the tone of his voice.

"Well, I do explore a lot around Fiore. You should at least expect that if you're going out on your own."

"I see... Guess I'll keep that in mind later." Natsu managed a light smile without showing his face.

"You've changed–No, it's not just you but your power as well. I was rather shocked to sense that power earlier but I never expected it to be you." Gildarts replied.

"So you noticed that too, huh?" Natsu brushed it off with a dismissive response.

Despite the somewhat friendly conversation between them, Gildarts suddenly turned serious as he began to look at the mysterious pinkette with slight enmity.

"What happened, Natsu? I don't sense the connection of your guild crest anymore. Did you leave the guild?"

"Maybe... I guess it's somewhere in that line."

"Don't dodge the question, Natsu."

"..." The dragonslayer fell silent as he looked at the Crash mage with enmity.

"From what I still remember, the Natsu I know shows much exuberance and never hides his face from someone in his family."

"What are you getting at, Gildarts?"

"I want to talk to that Natsu. I want to speak to the person who challenges me every time I visit the guild."

"Do you still think I'm in Fairy Tail after asking me with the same question earlier?"

"I still think you are but from the looks of it, I cannot tell anymore."

"Hmph... You are right. Even I couldn't tell if I'm still part of a guild that doesn't exist anymore." That question made him slightly made him edgy for some reason.

"What are you talking about?"

"Fairy Tail disbanded... I don't know about the details but it seems everyone went their separate ways same as me. Does that answer your question?" Natsu looked at him with a serious gaze.

"I see... I don't see any reason for the old man to disband the guild. But I guess he had his reasons." He felt relieved.

"From what I've heard the rumors, Gramps disappeared after disbanding the guild. I don't know where he went but I don't intend to find him for that matter."

"I expected it as much. Ever since seeing you like this, you really changed yourself. At this point, I don't even know what you're intending to do from now on." He sighed disappointedly.

"I don't regret my actions up until now. After all, you don't know anything about me at all, Gildarts." Natsu replied back with a dark tone.

"What are you talking about?"

Instead of answering him, Natsu simply chuckled underneath his breath as if he tries to ignore his question. Gildarts remained composed as he looked at him dead in the eyes.

"You're not gonna tell me?"

"And what will you do if I don't?"

"Then that brings me to my next question..." He paused he his gazed locked towards the pinkette who also answered with the same dark expression towards his mentor.

"... Are you going to be an enemy of Fairy Tail?"

A moment of silence reigned down on the two as the atmosphere between became tenser than ever as they could feel each other's magical pressure that even the peering residents felt their overwhelming powers just by staring at each other.

"That's a pretty interesting question there, Gildarts." He chuckled.

"Don't joke around here, Natsu. I'm asking you this as a friend and a father. I wanted to make sure if you don't intend on making Fairy Tail your enemy in the future."

"I doubt everyone would let me go that easily once they found out."

"Of course, they're still your friends and family. They will not let you go off so easily for such a petty reason."

"Petty? There's more to what you don't know about me, Gildarts. As long as they don't get in my way, then there's no reason for me to go against them. That's all." He declared which soon dissipates the tense atmosphere between them as the two revert back to their normal selves.

"I see... Then that makes things easier." Gildarts lightly smiled before turning back to the entrance and started to walk away.

"Hmm?" Natsu titled his head in confusion as the Crash mage departs once more but not long he glanced back to him.

"Just to let you know, you don't have to do this alone by yourself, Natsu. You have friends right by your side."

"Not this time, Gildarts. Plus, I already have someone." He replied, easing off his caution towards him.

"I see... I guess your other companion has been taking care of you. I'm relieved to hear that."

After that, Gildarts turned his gaze back to his direction and walked off silently before waving his hands over the distance.

"Oh, and tell the mayor of the town that I took care of the dark guild that's been harassing them!" He shouted before his figure was swallowed in the shadows.

Natsu simply smiled underneath his breath as he finally calmed down. Soon afterward, Sayla heads out from the inn to meet him.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

"Who was that?" She asked but Natsu simply gave her a smile in reassurance before turning his gaze towards the place where Gildarts went off.

"Just an old friend."

* * *

 ** _The next day…_**

"Are you sure about this?" A hesitant Natsu looked down a bag jewels on his hands. For some reason, he was rewarded for helping out the town in defeating the dark guild that is harassing them for quite some time.

He didn't know why but after his little talk with Gildarts, the mayor awarded him for saving them although it was clear that it was the crash mage that did the work. They didn't even know there was a dark guild in a place like this.

Life seemed to return back to normal on the town after hearing the news and people started continuing their daily lives.

Natsu and Sayla sat in a room together with the mayor who had a rather optimistic look on his face despite having strangers inside his room.

"Yes, I am sure." The mayor replied.

"But it wasn't us that helped your town, you know."

"I know... Gildarts always tend to deny any reward in his jobs because he always goes off without even collecting them."

"You seemed to know a lot about him." Natsu quirked in curiosity.

"Well of course! Gildarts frequently helps out the town whenever he's on a long journey. We were thankful for him for all those things. And since you're somehow friends to him, it's appropriate that we should give the reward in return."

"I wouldn't say friend anymore. Just an acquaintance."

"Well, I won't delve into more of that topic. This is all that we can offer to you. I hope it will bring you fortunes on your future journeys." The mayor smiled.

"Thanks, I guess." Natsu reluctantly agreed.

"Anyways, you mentioned something about a dark guild harassing you before." It was then Sayla spoke in curiosity.

"That's right. Just a few weeks ago, a dark guild raided our town and took our supplies. Since we're not any like of the other towns and cities with protection, we don't have a choice that is, until Gildarts showed up and brought them down for good."

"Hmm... Strange." Sayla pondered to think.

"What's strange?" Natsu asked.

"N-Nothing. I must be overthinking about it." She flailed her arms in reassurance which confused the two for a moment until Natsu stood up from his seat and bowed at the mayor one last time.

"We should be on our way. Thanks again for the jewels."

"Oh, don't mention it."

Eventually, the two went on their way and left the town. They started their journey once more but it was not long before the dragonslayer looked at the beaming demon girl beside him.

"So will you tell me what you thought about earlier?"

"You mean about the dark guilds?" She asked.

"Yeah..."

"Well... I've been thinking about how a dark guild could possibly resurface at this time. Tartaros destroyed all the remaining branches before its defeat against Fairy Tail. With the last major dark guild of the Balam Alliance finally defeated, there shouldn't be any dark guild resurfacing since the Alliance is no more." She revealed.

"Someone is probably reviving the Alliance by gathering the surviving dark mages all over the country." Natsu narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"That would be the case. Plus, it's also plausible because the Council is also destroyed. They must be using this chance to regroup and reform the Alliance."

"T-Then-" He gasped.

"That's right... The Alliance will be reformed by a new dark guild and will put other humans into danger. I don't know about the other legal guilds out there but there would be huge bloodbath is the Alliance was brought back."

"We can't let that happen!" Natsu raised his voice in worry.

"I know... Judging from the rumors about that dark guild that has been raiding the town, they were mostly cultists wanting to bring Zeref close to them."

"Zeref..." For a moment, Natsu felt enmity over himself just by hearing his name. His right arm reacted as well which caused him to grip tightly into it.

"Are you okay, Natsu?" She asked in worry.

"I'm fine. Leaving that aside, we should do something about that problem. At this rate, more people will be harmed."

"I was waiting for you to say that." She smiled.

"Huh?"

"Although it is strange for me to say it but I wanted to help these humans as much as you do, Natsu. I killed countless people and I can't help but feel guilty for my actions back then. That's why this time, I will redeem all of my sins and help as many people as I can." She declared as her eyes gazed at him with determination.

"Sayla, you..."

"You gave my life a new meaning. This is what I will try to do for your sake. I want to believe in your words back then... That I could fit in together with them and enjoy it with you."

Natsu could only look at her in surprise. He never saw her this determined before nor wanted to do anything for others. It was his first time seeing her like this but it earned him a smile in return to her statement.

Placing both his hands on her shoulders, he looked at her with the same expression.

"You will, Sayla. I promise you."

Their eyes set upon each other as she felt her cheeks rose up once again due to their face being close to each other.

"When this is all over, I will definitely bring you home with me." He voiced out.

"T-Then, it's a promise."

"Mmm." He nodded as he smiled alongside with her before slowly leaning his head closer to her and gave her a short kiss.

And with that, the two of them ventured out once more. There will be more obstacles and trials that lie ahead of them but they are confident that they will overcome them all. Their dreams are finally set. They carved their future in those short promises that they will continue to live on right beside each other.

* * *

 **A/N: And here's the last chapter of the flashback chapter for you guys. Thank you for reading. Next chapter will be now the continuation of the last previous chapter and probably the confrontation between him and his friends.**

 **See you guys on the next chapter and don't forget to leave a review for you thoughts in this chapter. It will be a great appreciation.**

 **\- wiErD SpeCtrumz blacking out… … …**


	13. Avatar

**A/N: Sup guys, wiErD here and I've got another chapter for you all.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for my plots. Everything else is owned by Hiro Mashima. Support the official release.**

* * *

 **\- Avatar -**

As he stands victorious against Orochi and Bluenote, Wendy and Chelia simply gaped in shock as they witnessed him defeated their rival guild in an instant. Natsu froze from his position as he saw the two girls carried along with two Exceeds, three of them who are once his guildmates on his former guild. Their eyes set upon his back as Natsu never met their gazes once and simply looked away as if he didn't see them.

On the other hand, the four could only gape in shock of Orochi's defeat. They even noticed that the master of the said guild was Bluenote Stinger, however, their attention is solely focused on the pinkette himself. They could've assumed that he somehow stopped them before they could even rush in to help out.

"N-Natsu!" Happy felt like tearing up after seeing his foster parent for the first time.

"Natsu-san!" Wendy and Carla also exclaimed in joy.

"Is that the Salamander?" Chelia pointed her hand towards him in recognition.

The two girls could only stand in surprise but Natsu simply ignored them and started to walk away the scene as if they were not there at all which soon caught their attention and tried to call him back.

"Natsu!" Happy called out.

"Natsu-san! We've been looking everywhere for you. Everyone is worried sick when you disappeared." Wendy joined in but Carla simply spoke before they could even call him back.

"Wait a moment, Wendy. Something's wrong with him. I think that's not the Natsu we know before. His personality is completely different." She looked at the pinkette with caution. Wendy and Happy stopped for a moment to look at the pinkette first.

His clothes consisted only of a high-collared cloak since they can't see much of his apparel due to him not revealing his face to them. His pink spiky hair was left untouched that it grew and lost its pointiness. Two white linens were wrapped on his arms and a pair of black boots is seen under his feet.

Looking at his attitude, he seemed to have lost his fiery attitude and developed a rather cold personality.

They were so focused on their reunion with him that they forgot how much he changed.

On the other hand, Natsu slightly glanced on his side as if to speak towards them after Carla took notice of his current features.

"It's been a long time, Wendy... Judging from the crest on your shoulder, you're in Lamia Scale right now." He presumed after seeing her guild mark.

"Y-Yes! But that doesn't mean that I left Fairy Tail because I wanted to–" She tried to state her reasons for doing so but Natsu already answered for her.

"I know... Fairy Tail disbanded a year ago, am I right?" The sky dragonslayer paused on her words as soon as he replied.

"It seems like you three got a lot of questions in your mind right now but... I don't plan on staying here for too long nor do I want any of your questions answered." He dismissed their conversation as he proceeded on his way towards the horizon until-

"Wait, Natsu-san!" Wendy called out once again to catch his attention. He stopped once again on his tracks without glancing back at them.

"I don't know what happened but if this was about Grandine and the others, I want to help. I know it's hard to think about our dragons parting before we could even reunite them but-"

"Igneel has nothing to do with this... Or anything back at Tartaros." He muttered.

"E-Eh?" She sounded dumbfounded at his reply.

"I act on my own accord. And it's best that you should stay away from me this time, Wendy."

"Natsu! Don't talk like that! Wendy and I have been searching for you since this past couple of months and this is what you say to her?" This time, Carla shouted in annoyance of his attitude.

"I don't intend on reuniting with all of you. We just happen to meet by coincidence. Plus, it's best that we should part this way." Natsu replied back with a cold tone.

"What do you mean by that?" Wendy asked in confusion.

Instead of answering her, Natsu walked away again this time without saying anything but not long before he left a small message towards them as a warning.

"There are things that are not meant to be shared, even if they happen to be in the same guild. If you understand it, then I suggest we pretend that we never had this conversation ever again. You should also keep this a secret to everyone, Wendy." After that, his body simply vanished into thin air, leaving the four completely confused and distraught.

The disturbing magic also disappeared from the area though it didn't take long as Wendy knelt down in tears towards the open space.

"Wendy!" Carla and Chelia gaped in shock but the former shifted her eyes back to the blue Exceed who had been unexpectedly silent throughout their conversation. Her eyes widen in disbelief as she saw him with empty eyes.

There was no hint of emotion present in his face. He just stood there dumbfounded after seeing Natsu like that. Little by little, tears also formed around his eyes and could only stutter in shock. Alongside with the sky dragonslayer, they looked at the distance where he'd disappeared.

"W-What happened, Natsu...?"

..

..

..

As soon as he was able to cover a few kilometers away from the city, Natsu landed down on a desolate road and stopped momentarily to rest. He looked back at the city with one glance before his horns appeared on his head. Placing his hood to cover it, he proceeded further down to the road until a familiar figure emerged from behind.

"You took so long. Didn't expect that." Natsu looked back and saw Sayla approaching him with a smile.

"The distance of our rendezvous is too far since I was in town. I'm more surprised that you actually finished faster than me. I was hoping you might get some information if that guild is involved with Avatar." She beamed with a smile.

"It's nothing important. It was just a rival guild that wants nothing more than revenge on Lamia Scale. Plus, I pretty got some things to clear up first before heading out."

"Hmmm..." She hummed with a teasing remark on her face which somehow got him tense for some reason.

"Alright, I won't ask you about it but..." She paused before shifting her eyes directly to his face.

"... Should you really be hard on them? I mean, they're your friends after all."

"I see... so you were watching, huh?" He looked at her in suspicion but Sayla only whistled silently to excuse herself. If he was ever in the mood to do anything, he would've scolded her but instead, he only flashed a faint smile over to the distance.

A brief silence reigned down on him until he began to reply.

"It's best for everyone back at the guild. This is my–no, our problem alone. It's better not to involve them any further in this. Plus, if the truth comes out about my origin, they will not take it to heart, especially that I'm the one who made them suffer back then."

"Natsu..." Sayla only frowned at the thought of blaming himself for all the things that happened a year back even though it was not him who did it in the first place. She could understand the burden of holding all the things that made his friends suffer but he was different.

He never intended to do any of that. He wasn't END at that time. He was their comrade and friend who fought alongside with them to fight off the demons from the Book of Zeref.

However, with things right now, she can't be certain if she can tell him that.

Instead, she only placed her hands onto him while looking at him with reassurance.

"Don't blame this all on you, Natsu. Your burden is my burden. At least, share that burden with me. I may not be in the position to say this but you don't have to blame yourself for all the things you didn't even do. And I knew that you're also doing this for their sake too." She smiled warmly at him which soon causes him to calm down in the process.

"..."

"So don't feel bad about anything. I'm always here with you." Natsu only shook his head as he looked at her with hesitation until she nodded as she proceeds to kiss him on the cheek in reassurance.

For once, he always finds it embarrassing to do that to her even though they've done it before. It gives him an awkward feeling but at the same time, she also washes his uncertainties away whenever she noticed it on him.

Funny...

To think that she would do the opposite to what he'd done to her when she was still out of reach. He guessed that they're both trying to learn from each other's experience and pain throughout the year and eventually became closer than ever.

However, their lives still hang on a thread as long as Zeref lives. If they wanted to live free from their troubles, they must eliminate him. That's the only thing that they must do right now.

"Feeling better?"

"Yeah... Thank you, Sayla." With a renewed gaze, they both resumed their journey towards the distant horizon. The sun is still up and there's still time to settle far away and find out more about Avatar.

"So, what are we going to do about Avatar?" It was then she decided to ask, wanting to know their next action against the rising dark guild faction.

"Well from what I got from Behemoth's master, the location is quite hidden since he communicated with them only by telepathy. I looked further for any clues but I only got the ritual itself but not the location of its headquarters or its members."

"So we're drawing blank here, huh?" She frowned at the news but Natsu simply pondered something.

"Well not exactly. I have a plan on how to get to the main branch without going out on other dark guilds. Plus, the ritual will be almost complete and it's time we should make our move and dismantle it before more innocents are involved." As soon as he said that, Sayla narrowed her eyes in caution before giving the pinkette a short nod.

"So where do we start?"

"Alright... We'll head out to Sabertooth."

* * *

 ** _Back at Magarett…_**

With the battle ending instantly by the appearance of a mysterious savior, the whole guild started to fix everything that had been damaged during the onslaught. There were several buildings and homes that were smashed down to the ground by the monsters, including their guild.

Despite the celebrated day, all of them simply began to work together in order to restore the city back into shape. Residents were returned back to their homes while others are escorted to the guild for shelter until their homes are rebuilt once again.

Lucy heaved a giant log on her shoulder as she too was forced to help out the guild in rebuilding their damaged city. She was slightly upset since they made her work even though she helped out in defending it although it was clear that most of them didn't do anything because of that mysterious person.

There are a lot of questions regarding that mysterious woman that saved them from the horde but it seems like she might not get the chance because she disappeared the moment after she saved the town alone.

"Hime, isn't it time for punishment?" Virgo popped out from the ground with chains all over her body.

Due to the heavy work, Lucy had to summon some of her Celestial Spirits to help out as well. So far, Loke and Virgo were the first choices since they force themselves out on the gate often even without her permission.

"Just stop it will you?" Lucy groaned as she ignored the masochistic maid in front of her and simply continued on her way.

It's been a few hours since the attack and the four still, haven't returned as well.

"They're sure taking it long over there. Did something happen?" She looked over to the distance out from the city in wonder.

"Don't worry, I think they're just talking some things about parting and all. After all, they've been roommates for quite awhile so they needed to say a proper goodbye to each other soon." Unexpectedly, Lyon appeared from the side while also putting down several construction tools for the restoration of their guild.

"H-How did you know about that?! I-I mean you were listening earlier?" She jumped out in surprise at his sudden appearance while also stuttering in shock at his statement.

"Ah, no... I just kinda knew this would happen. Wendy only stayed here because she had nowhere else to go after your guild's disbandment. And now, the topic about the missing Salamander also became quite a problem for both of you." He looked at her in sympathy.

"Yeah... Natsu pretty much had most of our memories tied together as a team back then, especially Happy. It's no wonder why she also wanted to find him as well." She made a bitter smile and simply stared at the entrance of the city in wonder.

"You're right... I just hope that he would come back soon. It's bad for him to keep his friends waiting for him all this time."

"Right."

Just as they were about to continue on their tasks, two figures are seen from the sky as Lucy noticed both Chelia and Wendy finally returning back alongside with Happy and Carla behind them.

A relieved smile went over to her face as she waved at the approaching duo back to the ground. Eventually, the whole town together with the guild mates also greeted them after seeing them safe and sound.

"Chelia! Wendy!" Lucy called out in glee as she approached the two girls with anticipation.

However, she stopped in her tracks as she saw their somber faces together with the Exceeds who could only look away in sadness as soon as they were surrounded by the people to celebrate their victory.

"Hey, Wendy. What's wrong?" The blonde mage tried to ask but the sky dragonslayer could only shake down her head, trying to hold back her tears as Carla comforted her in the process. Happy on the other hand was emotionless but she knew that he both had the same expression as the two.

"W-What happened?" She asked confusingly, unable to grasp the depressing atmosphere surrounding them until Carla looked at her with a conflicted look.

"Can we talk in private, Lucy? I think there's something you should know." After saying that, she led the distraught bluenette back to the guild with Happy following them suit.

Chelia looked at her best friend in worry and wanted to help but there're no words for her to say anything after all that's happened earlier with their missing friend. While the rest of the people celebrating, only a few mages noticed their expression as Lyon looked at the blonde mage before nodding lightly and quelled the crowd around them.

Lucy eventually followed the three inside the guild as the place itself was deemed empty with most of their members outside, repairing all the buildings and houses.

She followed them back to their room and eventually settled down on her bed while facing the three across the room who still had their expressions completely depressed and troubled.

"W-What's happening, guys? Aren't you supposed to be happy that Lamia Scale won over Orochi?"

"It's not about Lamia Scale, Lucy," Carla whispered which caught the blonde mage in surprise.

"E-Eh?"

There was a moment of silence between them until Wendy tightened her fists down to her skirt while still having her face gazed at her feet.

"He was there..." She mumbled.

"Who?"

"Natsu-san..." As soon as she uttered his name, Lucy froze but she managed to recompose herself afterward and stood up from the bed in glee.

"You saw him? W-Where? When?!" She couldn't control her flooding questions as she forgot the situation the three were having right now.

Despite her outburst of happiness, Wendy simply broke down in tears as she couldn't take it anymore. Carla was there beside her in which she comforted that soon destroyed the blonde mage's glee after seeing her cry.

"W-What's wrong? What happened to him?" She asked worriedly but instead, Carla answered for the bluenette.

"He's changed, Lucy. I don't know but he's completely different from what he was before."

"What are you talking about? I don't get it. Why didn't you take him back here with us?"

"H-He wants us to stay away from him. Natsu-san said it himself earlier that he will never want to meet us anymore." Wendy managed to speak as she tried her best to hold back her tears but failed to do so as it continued to streak down to her cheeks.

"N-Natsu... really said that?! I don't get it. Why would we want to stay away from us?"

"I-I don't know. I-I really don't know but..."

"That's not him." Before any of them could speak, Happy cut through their conversation as both girls looked at the Exceed in worry. His face that once filled with disbelief was now determined.

He doesn't want to believe it. That Natsu turned into something like that. There must be a reason why he changed so suddenly. The Natsu he knew would never talk coldly at his friends no matter how much grudge he holds on one of them.

"I refuse to believe that it's Natsu himself. There must be a reason why he's acting like that. And I want to know why!" He shouted.

"Happy..."

"I don't want to believe it. That's not Natsu..." Tears unknowingly flowed out from his eyes that he desperately tried to hold back in order to encourage them. He'd known the pinkette way too long and there's not a chance where he would talk like that against his friends no matter how serious it is to him.

Lucy could only pull the blue Exceed closer to her and hugged him to comfort him. It's been a year since that happened and she knew just how much it hurts him to see his foster parent whom he lived alongside with now changed into someone that he didn't recognize.

"I'm here for you, Happy..." If Natsu would be here, she would smack him hard for making his partner suffer like this.

She never even saw the pinkette up close but if they're telling the truth, there must be something going on around him right now that forces him to not come back to them.

"We can't give up on him. We need him back with us." She spoke.

"But how are we supposed to do that? We don't even know where he is right now. And he made it clear that he won't return to us." Carla asked.

"I know that we can find him. He's the reason why we're all here, remember? I can't just let him disappear after all the things he'd done for us. We're all a team here and it's our job to get him back here no matter how complicated it is for him this time." Lucy declared.

"W-What do you think we should do, Lucy?" Happy turned to ask her with a hopeful gaze to which she shook her head for a moment and think.

After a brief silence between them, she finally faced the group.

"We're going to need Gray and Erza. We're reforming the team and let them know what happened." Both Wendy and the two Exceeds simply widen their eyes in surprise after hearing her suggestion.

"Gray-san and Erza-san?"

"Yeah... We'll have to find them before we could find that idiot first. I'm sure we can convince him if we're together as a team." She said with confidence.

"That would work but... we don't know any of those two's locations over the past year. Who knows if they're already out of the country?" Carla reminded.

"It's alright. Happy and I kept track on everyone's location except for a few like Natsu and the two but it's worth a shot to see if anyone's got a hold on both Gray and Erza." She explained.

"Really?"

"Yeah but there is just one problem." She frowned. Both Wendy and the two Exceeds looked at her with worry. Lucy simply looked at the sky dragonslayer and the white Exceed with an uncertain look.

"Are you really sure about this, Wendy? I mean, you don't have to force yourself on this. I don't know what happened between you and Natsu so I was wondering–"

"It's alright, Lucy-san." Before she could even continue, Wendy soon spoke in reassurance. The blonde mage looked at the sky dragonslayer who simply answered with a firm expression.

"This is my answer from the start. I want Natsu-san to come back with us. I won't stop until I find what is troubling him. I want him to laugh with us, have fun with us and much more. I owed so many things to him that I've yet to repay... That's why I'm coming with you!" She declared. Her fears suddenly vanishing from her expression as Carla smiled at her determination before her eyes soon landed over to a couple of figures standing in the entrance of the guild.

"Everyone...!" Carla exclaimed upon recognizing her current guild members standing by at the door with the same smile on their faces after hearing the bluenette's decision.

Of course, Wendy and the others also felt surprised to see them at the entrance, overhearing their conversation.

"C-Chelia... Lyon-san..."

"We understand, Wendy. We were told about what happened earlier. And I know that you don't want us to feel sad because of this." Lyon reassured.

Moments later, Chelia walked towards her and simply took hold of her hands with a happy expression.

"Don't feel bad about it. I understand your bond with Natsu and the others. If you really wanted to go with them, I won't object to it because I want you to be happy as well, Wendy." The sky godslayer reassured.

"I'm really sorry, Chelia for leaving you again." She apologized as tears went up from her eyes.

"You're being such a crybaby, Wendy. It's not like I'm alone now or anything. I still have the others here with me. The only thing I would regret is that I won't be able to help you get him back, you know. I actually want to know more about Natsu-san as well because of how you admire him back then." She chuckled but Wendy knew her words were genuine.

"It would be wise if you guys would be on your way at once. If what Chelia said about Natsu being around here in this part of the country, he might not be that far to possibly track him. Although we may not be able to give you a proper send-off, you can at least leave some message to us right now, Wendy." Lyon advised.

"Mmm..." Wendy only nodded in response with a smile before looking back to all of the group behind Chelia and simply bowed.

"T-Thank you everyone for taking care of me. Although it was short, I enjoyed my stay here with you all. I won't forget all the things you've done for us!" She made her speech as Lucy and Happy stood there with a proud look on their faces.

"Don't mention it, Wendy-chan!"

"We know this day would happen soon."

"Don't leave us, Carla-chan!"

Different comments fill the air on her speech as Chelia placed both of her hands onto the bluenette's shoulder and smiled.

"Thank you for everything, Wendy. I hope you will find him and hopefully, you would introduce me to him the next time we meet."

"Sure!"

After a few hours, the group prepared their things as Wendy and Carla packed up their things and decided to come along with Lucy and Happy on their mission to retrieve Natsu back. The four stood at the entrance of the city as they bade their farewells to the members of Lamia Scale.

"Be well, Wendy!" Chelia waved her hand from the distance as the four slowly walked down to the path where they last saw the pinkette.

"Yeah! You too, Chelia!" Wendy returned the same gesture as their figures eventually disappeared in the far distance which soon silences the whole crowd near the entrance.

Chelia slowly lowered her hand before she felt a soft pat on his head, prompting him to look at Lyon who simply smiled faintly towards the distance.

"Don't worry. You can cry now."

Chelia thought about doing so but she held it all in and instead, replaced a renewed gaze and smiled happily towards him.

"I won't... Because I want for Fairy Tail to come back. I want to meet them again together in the near future so... I won't cry." She declared which then made the ice mage to shake down his head in relief.

..

..

As the four began their journey, Wendy silently walked alongside with the blonde mage. Happy and Carla also followed suit while discussing some things about each other since they haven't talked to each other for a long time.

"Are you okay, Wendy?" Lucy looked at the bluenette in worry.

"I'm fine... I just need a little time."

"I see... Don't worry, we'll find him for sure, I promise you." She vowed. Wendy simply smiled in return before changing the topic.

"So who are we getting first? You said about having someone connected to either Gray-san or Erza-san, right?"

"Yup..." She proceeded in turning over to her backpack and picked a map inside to begin her search.

"So let's see... From what Happy and I last heard is that there is a small abandoned town not far from here. It's called Rainfall Town." She read.

"Rain?"

"Yup... Apparently, it rains all the time in that village." She explained the reason behind its unusual name.

"Could it be?"

"That's right. If my senses are right then there's no doubt that she might know where Gray is. That's our first lead for now. If we can convince them to join us, it might be easier to find Erza as well."

"That sounds like a great start," Happy exclaimed.

"But this is just the beginning. We don't know once we managed to find everyone together. Or the fact when we confronted him. The only thing that will decide on this matter is Natsu himself." After saying that, both Wendy and the other Exceeds nodded in response before heading towards the town with determination.

* * *

 ** _After a few hours… Near Sabertooth…_**

The city was full of people since one of the strongest guilds reside here as their pride and joy. People flocked the streets and went on their daily lives alongside with the mages who helped them in the process.

Natsu and Sayla stood silently above the roof of one of the buildings to hide their presence from the people and the mages around town. Since it's Sabertooth's home, the amount of mages and security in the area are high.

The dragonslayer tugged his cloak closer to hide his face as he looked over to the towering headquarters of Sabertooth. The structure consisted of many buildings combined into one complex building, adorned by a multitude of facades, windows, and pillars, as well as by some pointed towers protruding upwards from its upper part. Sitting atop of the building is a massive statue portraying the animal which is the guild's namesake with its jaws open.

"Are you sure that Sabertooth got the information about Avatar's location?" Sayla asked.

"Certainly. I assume since the disbandment of Fairy Tail, Sabertooth got all the jobs from it and continued to flourish. And because of that, high and dangerous jobs are sent through here by clients in which one of them has extensive knowledge about Avatar's base of operations." He explained.

"Hmm... So you've planned it all out from the start." She nodded her head in confirmation.

"Well, that is just one reason. There's actually one more reason that I had to plan this from the start." Sayla was about to ask but it was then Natsu stretched his arms sideways as some sort of gesture to warn her.

She looked at the street and saw some multiple mages coming into view which then caused her nod at his signal and swiftly relocated from another building to observe the guild.

"We've been waiting here for quite some time... Can't you just bust in and disguise yourself to ask for the information?" She suggested.

"I was thinking the same thing since I can't seem to track any of Rogue's scent inside." He narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"Rogue?" She tilted her head in confusion at the mention of someone's name.

"Strange... I can pick everyone's scent inside the guild but there's no sign of him or Frosch."

"Wait, wait, wait! I'm quite lost you there. Who are you referring to by the way?" She asked in confusion but Natsu simply pondered for a moment to think.

He racked his brain for answers and also recalled some of his old memories especially from that one time back at Crocus. He was sure that he gave the exact day since that's when the ritual would start and also the unavoidable fate that would fall on Rogue unless...

It almost took him a second to realize it.

If Sayla would have the same hearing sense as the pinkette, she would hear him cursing underneath his breath for his carelessness.

He widened his eyes in shock before turning to direction over to the west and tried to use his powers to enhance his sense a thousand-fold. It didn't take a few minutes until he picked up a faint scent of the shadow dragonslayer along with two other scents that he also recognized as well.

He gritted his teeth as soon as he confirmed their location.

With a swift glance, he looked back at Sayla with a serious expression.

"We have to hurry, Sayla! We have to get to Avatar now!"

"E-Eh? Now?!" He didn't answer right away as he dashed swiftly out of town in a matter of seconds as the demon girl followed him behind with a confused look.

On the other hand, Natsu only scolded inwardly at his carelessness.

 _'Damn it, how can I not realize it sooner?!'_ He thought out in irritation as he focused his eyes over to the distant forest and gritted his teeth in frustration.

 _'You better not be dead when I get there, Rogue!'_

..

..

..

Situated on Mikage Forest, Rogue alongside with Frosch and Minerva struggled to their feet as their landed on two figures in front of the abandoned church which is now the headquarters of Avatar itself.

All three of them were engaged in a battle against two figures who made a quick short work for them as they stood victorious over them.

The shadow dragonslayer struggled on getting up as his body was full of wounds and injuries that he got from the two figures in front of him. Frosch lie injured as well within his vicinity alongside with Minerva who is also in the same state as him.

His eyes looked upon one of the figures whom he recognized a long time ago.

"W-Why? Why someone like you is in a guild like this, G-Gray?!" He demanded as he clenched his fists tight to hear his answer.

"Hoh, I thought you would be smart enough to know that I'm not that kind of person that would stick around on a guild that doesn't exist anymore. Open your eyes, Rogue... This is reality." Gray mocked.

"A-Are you really serious about your words, Gray?!"

"You're such a bother." Flicking his finger, multiple sheets of ice in a shape of jagged spikes erupted underneath Rogue that simply sent him far away from the place where his other two companions lay defeated.

"R-Rogue..." Frosch managed to utter his name despite all the injuries numbing his small body. His frog suit is dirtied and was caught within the crossfire against Gray whom they didn't expect to be part of such dark guild.

"It's pretty moronic for you to go out fight all of us alone. You should've stayed back on Sabertooth in the first place if you don't know what's going to happen once you stepped against me." Gray continued.

"Stop conversing with those weaklings and finish them already, Gray." The other one spoke in irritation as the ice mage looked back at the man with a wicked grin.

"I don't listen to anyone, Jerome."

"If you insist on playing with them, I'll finish them myself. Or do you still hold such bonds towards your former friends." Jerome asked in suspicion but Gray simply stopped him.

"Impossible... I'm done with all of them. I have only one purpose and you know that."

"Then it shouldn't be a problem for you then. Hurry up and finish the job. We should be prepared to look out for the rumored Crimson Demon who's been bringing down all the other dark guilds associated with us. The fall of Behemoth sure puts a fair warning to us now. Arlock doesn't want any time wasted and the ritual will begin soon."

"..." Gray fell silent and simply walked over to the downed three and looked around to think. It was then his eyes fell on the Exceed right before him who can barely move on its own due to its injuries.

"Guess I'll start with you then."

"Don't you dare touch him, Gray!" Rogue shouted but was powerless to do something as he watched hopelessly as the ice mage proceeds in summoning an ice spear from his hand.

..

..

Meanwhile, on some other part of the forest, a group of council guards marched on the dead forest as their synchronized stomps resounded loudly at the surroundings. Different kinds of weapons imbued with magic were carried to each of the men as three figures marched ahead of the group.

"Captain! Are you really certain about the location?" One of the councilmen turned to ask the spiky haired dragonslayer.

"The information provided by that old tree man is enough. Plus, it's an information handed from Chairman Hyberion so there's no need to doubt them. We shall fulfill our roles as the Council Detention Corps." Gajeel answered.

"Better hurry and ready the men, we're approaching the main base soon." He continued as he ordered the rest of the men behind them.

"However sir, we also have word that Gray Fullbuster is currently in that cult as well.

"Gray, huh?" At first, Gajeel thought about the name but decided to dismiss it casually and grinned in response.

"Like I give a damn about him, he goes along with those sods."

"That's pretty harsh coming from an old friend and former guildmate." Levy turned up to speak for him.

"That is all in the past. We're nothing but strangers to each other now. If he walks his way in such a dark guild after all these past months, he'll have to face the consequence."

"But still... there must be a reason why he joined that guild."

"We won't know for sure. We can all discuss that once we arrest him." Gajeel spoke in determination as he narrowed his eyes over to the distance.

"We're almost there," Lily added.

"Everyone! Prepare yourselves. We will attack their main base and arrest anyone who will try and resist the Detention Corps. Don't let any single one of them escape!"

Collective forms of shouts went into the air as Gajeel and the others also marched their way over to the dark guild.

A multi-confrontation between old friends will be imminent.

* * *

 **A/N: And stop! The chapter ends here with another cliffhanger. As you can see, I wanted to at least give a bit of a twist of Rogue being ahead of what Natsu expected him to go after Avatar.**

 **And also judging from the multiple cameos, there would be a really intense confrontation between former rivals and guild mates. Look forward to it.**

 **Oh, and one more thing, I would want to change Juvia's knowledge of Gray's secret mission here. I thought it would be good for her to know the whole situation rather than getting tricked for not knowing all of it since it was only a plot hole to force her out of the arc in canon. No offense but I'd like her to be involved in some shitty business between Gray and Erza too so there would be no moping.**

 **Plus, this twist will eventually bring up Lucy and Wendy to join up the expedition and confront Natsu altogether in a few more chapters.**

 **Anyways, leave a comment and tell me what you think so far. I'd really appreciate it.**

 **Thanks for reading and I'll see you guys on the next chapter.**

 **\- Song used to create this chapter, Landmine - Three Days Grace**

 **\- wiErD SpeCtrumz blacking out… … …**


	14. Confrontations

**A/N: Sup guys, wiErD here and I've got another chapter for you all.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for my plots. Everything else is owned by Hiro Mashima. Support the official release.**

* * *

 **\- Confrontations –**

The weather that surrounds Rainfall Town is unusually different from the other usual weathers that occur every day on Earthland. A large group gray clouds surround the sky and seemed to have not moved in its position aside from hovering above the town itself.

No one sure knows of this phenomenon but people have been calling it due to its unusual weather pattern. While the rest of the world stayed sunny and bright, Rainfall Town constantly rains solely in it.

It's quite a mystery that the town hasn't been sunk down to the ground due to the rain.

Lucy and Wendy along with the two Exceeds slowly approached the rumored town and looked at it in wonder as they stopped for a moment to observe. They are just a few meters away from the rain and it seemed so surreal to look at it.

"So this is Rainfall Town..." Wendy spoke in wonder.

"According to the map, it's here alright. I wonder if Juvia is there along with Gray too." Lucy looked around the rainy town but so no one. Most of the place is completely bogged down due to the rain.

Houses were broken and the place was full of debris. She doubts if everyone could still live in a place like this but it's a shot that they may find the water mage that might also lead to Gray as well.

They can't waste enough time to think for another place. They must bring back Natsu at all costs.

"Well, we may never know once we look around town." Happy spoke. The others nodded in response before looking back at the town with determination.

"Let's go."

As soon as Lucy said that, the four eventually ventured inside. Without anything to cover themselves, they simply wandered through the rain without caring about being drenched in the cold.

Their objective is to find Juvia. There's no time for them to waste any time. Every second lets Natsu away from them. If they could find Gray and Erza together, they might help out as well, considering that they both wanted the pinkette to come back.

It might be also a good chance to finally reform Fairy Tail together as well and bring everyone back. At least, that's what they're all hoping.

Wendy and Lucy don't know about the others if they feel the same way as them. It's been a year since the guild disbandment and everyone moved on with their lives without much a word with each other. They still yet to find their Master as well since he also disappeared in past year without warning.

A lot of questions are needed to be answered right now and both of them felt like it's time to bring back Fairy Tail altogether.

This isn't the end of their guild. Their guild crests and the memories they had in that place is proof of that.

After a few minutes, they both searched along the other two Exceeds as they waded through empty houses in hopes of finding the water mage but it seems like they haven't found her yet.

"There's a lot of empty houses but we haven't seen Juvia yet. Can you track her scent, Wendy?" Lucy asked the sky dragonslayer beside her.

"I tried to but my senses aren't as sharp as Natsu-san or Gajeel-san. But I can pick her faint sense around town though I can't tell where." Wendy replied.

"Then we'll just have to search around. If she's here then we might ask her about Gray and tell the situation." Carla proposed.

"Yeah..." With a unified nod within the group, they continued their search.

Another few minutes passed and the group eventually found the water mage at last. Wendy was able to pick up a stronger scent coming from the house in front of her as she looked at it in wonder.

The house was quite different from the rest. It was built properly and has been able to withstand the rain for the past couple of months. It was cleaned properly and rechecked, judging from its new appearance.

Only a couple of kitchen tools and other things were scattered around. The lights inside were lit which only made her assume that she's probably inside together with Gray.

"Hey, guys. I think I found her." Wendy called out the rest as they both gathered to her position and looked at the house the bluenette was pointing at.

"Is that her house?"

"Probably. I can smell her scent inside though I can't sense any of Gray-san together with her." She frowned.

"Well, that's a chance for us. Knowing her, she might actually know where he is." Lucy gave an optimistic smile towards them as they all nodded in reassurance before approaching the house together.

"Here goes..." Lucy gave a small breath and finally knocked the door to see if she's inside.

There was silence at first until Lucy and Wendy tried to knock again in hopes of getting answered.

.

..

...

Another silence came from the other side.

"Do you think she's out somewhere?" Wendy looked worried.

"Probably... Maybe we should–" Before she could even finish, the door banged open, almost getting it out from its hinges as the four were taken by its sudden movement and didn't expect someone from the inside, lunge at Lucy in just a matter of seconds.

"GRAY-SAMAAAAA~" Juvia came from the other side and simply tackled Lucy without any realization due to her overjoy. Wendy and the others gaped in shock at her sudden appearance as the two girls were thrown to the ground.

"Aaaaaaaaah–Quit it, Juvia! You're suffocating me!" Lucy tried to wriggle out from the water mage's hold but was unable to do due to its tight grip.

"I've been so worried for so long! I thought you would never come back~ Did you finally finish your secret mission?~" She released multiple questions without realizing anything yet.

"Awawawa, Juvia-san. You're suffocating, Lucy-san!" It was then, Juvia eventually realized the familiar voice as she opens her eyes and looked at the bluenette standing right beside her with a panicked expression.

"E-Eh? Wendy-san?" She blurted out in confusion at the appearance of the sky dragonslayer.

She paused once more before looking back to the person she was currently hugging and found a passed out blonde mage right in front of her.

Instinctively, she released her hold on her and finally realized what happened.

"L-L-Lucy-san?!" Upon seeing her, Juvia jolted in surprise and immediately covered a few meters away from her to recompose herself.

On the other hand, Happy and Wendy went over to the down Celestial mage and tried to help her but it seems like she went unconscious due to the water mage's tight hug. Seriously, if Gray lived with her, he must've felt the same thing when she tries to hug her.

Or just the fact that Juvia considered the blonde mage a love rival so she might've done on purpose but who knows...

"Is she alright?"

"She just passed out. She might wake up soon so there's nothing to worry." Wendy reassured before all eyes finally gazed at the confused water mage who was standing at the door with a dumbfounded expression.

"Why are you guys out here?" It was then she asked.

"We came here to talk to you, Juvia-san."

...

...

...

The room inside was quite spacious and had two beds situated across each other. A workable bench and other furniture are seen around the house. The place was also well lit and the things were cleaned properly.

Lucy and the others were eventually lead inside the house as Juvia prepared for some tea for the four. The blonde mage eventually regained consciousness and simply rested herself on a nearby chair along with the others while waiting for the water mage.

"Honestly, I didn't expect all of you to come to this place at this time," Juvia spoke across the room as she brewed some hot water on the four cups while also finishing some loose ends around the house to make themselves comfortable.

"Well this is our first time visiting anyone from the guild in the past year so we're kinda nervous about it," Lucy spoke in return.

"Make yourselves at home. It's not much but at least, I can provide some other things to keep you all company." Juvia reassured.

After that, she approached the living room with a plate on and placed it down on the small table. The four accepted her hospitality and took the cups and savored their thirsts. Juvia waited patiently for them to finish as she sat on one spare chair beside them and looked at them in wonder.

"It's been a long time, Lucy-san, Wendy-san," Juvia smiled.

"Yeah, it's been awhile. How're you been?"

"I'm fine at least. I was also worrying about everyone since the guild disbanded. I'm glad that you two are living fine but I've yet to say anything for the others." She frowned in the process until Lucy spoke.

"D-Don't worry! Everyone's doing fine. They've been joining some places and guilds so they're doing okay..." The blonde mage flailed her arms in reassurance.

"I see... I'm glad."

"Well leaving that aside, you sure made quite a house for yourself, Juvia." Happy remarked positively as he looked at the room around him.

"I've been doing some jobs as well on nearby towns to keep this place intact..." She paused before changing the topic.

"... More importantly, what are you guys doing here?"

The two girls looked at each other for a moment before looking back at Juvia with anticipation as Lucy began to speak their reasons.

"Do you know where Gray is?"

The four of them were expecting her to answer but instead, Juvia simply locked her eyes towards Lucy with blazing eyes upon mentioning the ice mage. Without warning, Juvia raised her hands in defense towards the blonde mage with caution as she stood up as if she was ready for a fight.

"What are you asking about Gray-sama?! Are you finally confessing your l-love to him?! UNACCEPTABLE! NOT WHILE JUVIA IS AROUND! GRAY-SAMA HAS CHOSEN JUVIA OVER LOVE-RIVAL!"

It was then, they all realized...

Right, she was still talking about that.

Instead of acting surprised, the four of them released a sweated sigh before Lucy waved her hand with a dismissive expression and looked at the water mage in reassurance.

"No, not that. I wouldn't be here if I came for that so rest assured." She replied nonchalantly which then managed to get her back to normal and lowered her guard against her.

"E-Eh? Y-You finally accepted your defeat?"

"What are you talking about?"

"SO YOU'RE STILL FIGHTING FOR HIM?!"

"Stop with the whole love rival thing already?! It's been a year for Mavis sake!?" Lucy shouted.

Despite the comical conversation between the two, Wendy and the others could only smile at the sight since the scene reminded them of something during their time back at Fairy Tail when everyone is still together.

They can easily picture the images of everyone in the background and while they fight with each other for such nonsense although the image of Natsu and Gray simply made them frown all of a sudden after remembering the pinkette's words back then.

"What's wrong?" For some reason, Juvia noticed the bluenette's frowning expression as she stopped along with Lucy who then noticed the same thing and felt depressed all of a sudden.

"I-It's nothing. I-I'm just thinking of something." Wendy reassured, trying to hide the sad expression from others.

"Anyway, do you know where Gray is? We came here since you might know where he's been over the past year." Lucy asked once again with a serious gaze.

"Did something happen?" Juvia asked but she immediately confirmed it after seeing their strained looks at each other.

It was then she noticed something off.

Natsu wasn't with them. It was pretty unusual for them to have not the pinkette along with them since she always saw them together as a team. Even with the guild's disbandment, she knows all too well that Natsu would be together with them no matter what kind of situation they're in.

Plus, Happy was also with them so it's really strange to see him not here with them.

"I just noticed... Why isn't Natsu-san with you?" She asked curiously but as soon as she uttered his name, everyone lowered their heads to shadow their expressions to her as if they were completely different people from what she saw them a year back.

They never displayed such depressed faces and this is the first time she's witnessing such change from them.

A moment of silence reigned down around them until Lucy looked at the worried mage to answer.

"There's something important that you must know–No, rather, this is something that the whole guild must know."

..

..

"E-Eh? Natsu-san really did say something like that?" Juvia exclaimed in shock, not believing of what she just heard about the news regarding the pinkette.

"Yeah..."

"But why? I mean, we didn't do anything wrong to him, right?"

"I'm not sure... But from what Wendy heard from him, he doesn't want us to see him anymore." Lucy explained.

"Is that true?" Juvia looked at the other three in worry who only made depressed faces which only made her confirm her question.

"So what's going to happen now? I mean, you said that Natsu-san went somewhere else. Do you know where he's going now?" She asked.

"We don't know... That's why we thought about finding Gray and Erza first. We want to reform Fairy Tail again."

"R-Reform Fairy Tail?"

"Yeah... We've been thinking about it ever since we saw Natsu back at Magarett so we decided to bring back everyone together and help Natsu come to us." Lucy answered.

Juvia couldn't say anything due to the overwhelming shock she was having right now. It was her first time hearing them reforming the guild. Sure, it brought her some hope and happiness but she was uncertain about the others.

I mean, it's been over a year already and everyone moved on with their lives. She could not think of anyone trying to reform the guild that made them go their separate ways in the first place, however-

She too also wanted it to come back. It's been a long time since she experienced the same thing after their disbandment at Phantom Lord. She was quite devastated if not for Makarov that granted her a place to join the guild that she wanted to destroy before.

She made many memories in that place and it just pains her to see it disband a year back. Even Gray wanted the same wish back then.

Juvia shook her thoughts aside and simply went back on the topic.

"D-Does everyone knows about Natsu right now?" She asked.

"Only the five of us including you. We were also hoping for Gray and Erza to know about this too but we wanted to keep this a secret for everybody else to not let them worry at the moment."

"I see..."

"Well, that's about what we all know at the moment. Do you know where Gray is at the moment?"

Another silence reigned down on the group as Juvia shook her head upon hearing the ice mage's name. The four looked at her with confusion as she straightened herself first before speaking towards them.

"Gray-sama... is doing something at the moment."

"Huh? What do you mean doing something?" Lucy asked.

"The truth is... Gray-sama had been gone for half a year because of some special mission from the Magic Council." She revealed.

"Special mission?!" Happy exclaimed in shock. Juvia simply nodded at his response before continuing.

"He said something about doing something about a dark guild and told me to stay put in order to prevent anyone from getting involved."

"It seems like the situation over there is kinda serious if he said it like that." Carla assumed.

"It is... Because the dark guild he was requested to put down is the main branch that has been reforming the Balam Alliance over the past year."

Upon hearing that, Lucy and the others could only widen their eyes in disbelief at such news brought to them. They couldn't believe that Gray was involved in something really serious over the past year and no one knew about it except Juvia.

"If he hasn't come back here, then it means he was still in the middle of that mission."

"I guess so... I haven't heard of anything ever since he went out on that mission. I tried following him but it would break my promise with him so that's why... I've been waiting for him to come back at least up until now." She frowned.

It was then, Lucy realized.

"Wait a moment! The main branch of the dark guilds... Could it be he's doing a job to dismantle Avatar?!" She blurted.

"Avatar?" Wendy and the others looked at her in confusion.

"Yeah, that's right! I heard rumors about it while I was still a reporter. It's the leading dark guild after the fall of the Balam Alliance. The group has mostly consisted of cultists that worship Zeref and had been terrorizing the country for half a year along with the other arising dark guilds." She revealed.

"Now that you think about it, the mission Gray took was serious than we thought."

"I haven't heard about much anything since then, except that the Council made an announcement yesterday of attacking it." She continued.

"Did they finally know its location?" Happy asked.

"Yeah... The dark guild is located on Mikage Forest, not too far from here. If that's the guild Gray was working to destroy, there's a chance that he might be there as well."

"Wait! Are you going over there?!" Juvia interrupted them with a surprised look.

"Well yeah... Plus, if we went there, we might be able to help him to defeat it. "

"B-But, Gray-sama–" She tried to dissuade them until Lucy answered again.

"I understand your promise with him but I can't just sit here while my friends are fighting elsewhere that might endanger their lives in the process. Plus, I think he's an idiot for making you stay here for a long time. I'd rather go out there and help him fight those dark mages. We've been always like that even back at the Fairy Tail, right?" She declared which soon caught the water mage in thinking carefully at her words.

However, her gaze soon went over to the bluenette who has something to say as well.

"Juvia-san... I agree with her. If what you said is true about him, then he might be fighting there right now. Plus, wouldn't it be better if we go out and help him as well? We're always been fighting side by side with each other. I think it's time we should reform Fairy Tail and bring everyone back together with Natsu-san." She smiled.

"Everyone..."

"So, please... Please lend us your help, Juvia!" Lucy bowed.

It took only for about a minute as Wendy and the two Exceeds looked at the water mage with anticipation until-

"Juvia... Juvia feels the same way. I want everyone to get back together. I want to help Gray-sama too. So Juvia too will go with you!" As soon as she said that, Lucy and Wendy smiled in glee as they both felt relieved at her decision to help them as well.

"Thank you, Juvia!"

Juvia could only nod with a smile towards them as they both finally agreed on their decision to help out each other.

"So what are we going to do now?" Happy asked.

"Well, we should make our way first towards Avatar and help Gray. There's also a chance that we might meet Levy and the others there as well." Lucy suggested though the others looked at her with confusion.

"Levy and the others?"

"Oh, right... I haven't told you yet. Levy, Gajeel, and Lily joined the Council as part of the Detention Corps to help out the new Council. Since the old Council was destroyed in the last year, they both needed some people to keep order and they simply joined." She revealed.

"Wow! I could never picture Gajeel be a council member. But I think it would be quite a shock once we meet him." Happy commented.

"Yeah... anyway, we should also move out as well. If the news about the attack towards Avatar is true, then we may be able to help out everyone together."

"Aye, sir!"

"We're definitely bringing everyone back together!"

"YES!"

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile, back at Mikage Forest…_**

Jerome watched as Gray proceeds on his execution on the intruders as he summoned an ice spear on his hand, seemingly pointed at the Exceed right in front of him. The ice mage looked at the scared feline with enmity as Frosch trembled in fear at his presence.

Rogue, on the other hand, was helpless to do anything to prevent him from trying to kill Frosch.

Gray looked at the Exceed carefully and slightly showed a bit of hesitation as Frosch cried in fear and looked at the shadow dragonslayer with a despaired look.

"Rogue..."

"Frosch!"

It was then, Gray slowly closed his eyes for a moment before looking at Jerome for another option.

"Could we just leave them be and die out here. It's pretty disgusting for me to have my clothes stained with blood, you know." He looked at the shaggy-haired dark mage.

"Are you seriously saying that now, Gray? Or is it that you really cared for them in the first place? No one shall stand in the way of the Purification Ritual and these people must be killed without a second thought." Jerome explained.

"So you're really not letting them go, huh?"

"Of course... Plus, I think this is a perfect time to see if you are really true on your words back then. Killing your former comrades wouldn't be so hard now, is it?" He added with a dark smile on his face which only made the ice mage to fell silent.

He closed his eyes and looked back at the Exceed with a blank expression.

"It seems like it's very unfortunate for all of you to be here at this moment. No matter, I shall carry out my plans for that book." He made an ice speak from his hand and pointed it towards Frosch without hesitation.

"Sorry..." With a whisper, he thrusts his speak on the Exceed without falter as Rogue watched in horror.

"FFFFRRRROOOOOSSSSCCCHHHH!"

However, before he could even pierce the Exceed, Gray's body was immediately restricted as the ice speak stopped in mere inches away from Frosch. Gray widened his eyes in shock after realizing him body being controlled by someone.

Jerome looked at the shaking ice mage with suspicion after seeing him hesitant on finishing off the Exceed.

"What's wrong, Gray? Are you really hesitating to kill off a simple cat–" He cut off his sentence as Gray threw the ice spear towards him, prompting him to jump away in surprise before looking at Gray with enmity.

At the same time, Gray dropped the Exceed and turned his face towards Jerome with a bewildered look.

"What's the meaning of this, Gray?!" Jerome demanded at the sudden hostility against him.

"I-It's not me! I can't control my body..." Gray tried to break free but his body won't listen despite him being conscious.

"What?"

Before they could even analyze the situation, both of them suddenly felt a very strong magical presence coming from the corner of the woods. Jerome looked in caution as a cloaked figure slowly revealed himself from the shadows and made his entrance between them.

 _'T-This kind of pressure! He's not human!'_ Jerome thought out in disbelief as he could feel the magic slowly forcing him to fall to his knees just by looking at it.

 _'Could he be that rumored Crimson Demon?'_ Gray thought despite his body being under control.

After a few seconds of silence, the restriction on his body finally disappeared.

"..." The figure didn't speak before turning his gaze over to the wounded Sabertooth members.

Then all of a sudden, he created a wall of fire between Gray and Jerome from the three as the flames rose above a couple of meters high that could be seen even outside the forest. Gray and Jerome could feel the intense heat coming from the flames and they could only widen in shock at its power.

The two dark mages leaped away from the scene as the flames simmered down and eventually left a line of scorched land between them and the Sabertooth mages.

Soon afterward, another figure landed from a tree and stood in front of the three injured mages, seemingly protecting them along with the other cloaked mage.

"Hmm... So you two are the rumored Demons that has been destroying all dark guild around Fiore over the past couple of months. And now, you've finally set your sights on Avatar, am I right?" Jerome guessed their intentions but the two simply fell silent.

Instead, Natsu looked at Sayla with a slight glance before whispering.

"Can you take these three back?"

Sayla answered with a light nod before turning her attention over to the downed mages and helped both Rogue and Minerva with her curse together with Frosch in hand. She looked back on the other cloaked figure behind her before looking back again towards her direction and vanished along with the two.

As soon as they were gone, Jerome summoned his dark sword and readied himself for combat while Gray simply stood in caution, observing the mysterious figure before them.

"Who are you?" Gray demanded.

"..." Natsu dismissed his question with silence as he locked his eyes solely on Jerome.

"He's not here for a talk, Gray. This one is no joke. His power is nothing that I've seen before." Jerome warned as he narrowed his eyes in caution towards the cloaked figure before him.

"So you came here to destroy Avatar, huh? In that case, you'll have to go through us-" Gray was stopped as his eyes widened in shock after missing a flashing blur that went past him and simply slammed Jerome by grabbing his face and forced it down to the ground.

A large crater emerged within his position as Natsu easily defeated him in just one blow while Gray stood in disbelief at his speed.

"Wha..." He was left stunned as Natsu drew back his hand from Jerome's face and stepped back away.

He ignored the ice mage and simply lifted his other hand as dark red flames swirled around his palm, seemingly pointed at Jerome.

He intends to kill him without mercy...

But just as he was about to execute the dark mage, Natsu instinctively jumped back before a wall of ice was summoned against him, earning him to look at the ice mage for the first time.

"Are you ignoring me, Crimson Demon?" Gray answered with enmity as the mark on his body glowed in purple color, utilizing his use of his Ice Devilslayer Magic.

"..." Again, he ignored the ice mage and simply tried to make his way over to Jerome until multiple large spikes were thrown at him once more, forcing him to turn in for the defense and used his flames to melt the ice.

"I ask again, are you ignoring me, Crimson Demon?"

It was then, Natsu had enough.

Suddenly arching his body down into a stance, Natsu began to attack. With his hands placed in a circular fashion, he began to chant his spell.

 **"Demonic Fire Dragon's Raging Hell!"**

In an instant, Natsu launched a massive whirl of fire towards Gray as he spun his arm counter-clockwise. The ice mage simply widens his eyes in shock as he tried to freeze the whole fire to counter it.

 _'Flames?!'_

The raging flames instantly turned into purple ice as Gray crossed his arms however, he didn't notice the figure coming straight towards him in a crimson blur as he used his flames on his feet to propel him forward.

Circling his body, Natsu brought a blazing punch on his face and simply launched him far away and crashed into a large boulder which soon created a huge cloud of debris in the air as Natsu landed back on his feet before looking at the smoke before him.

Soon afterward, Gray emerged from the crash as he spat a patch of blood from his mouth and wiped off the rest before looking at the mysterious cloaked figure in front of him.

His face was slightly scratched but the force of the punch was not to be taken lightly. If he had not made an ice spell to protect his face from his punch, he would've been knocked out in an instant.

However, judging from his display of power against him, he's not taking him seriously with such threat unlike what he did to Jerome.

Plus, this is a good time to confront the rumored mage without having to fight him with such a misunderstanding.

Shards of ice vanished into thin air before speaking.

"Can I ask you something?" Gray proceeded to ask.

"..." Again, the cloaked figure didn't response as he stood in a fair distance between the ice mage, waiting for his move.

"If I told you the truth about me not entirely part of that dark guild, will you reveal yourself? I believe we both come here for the same reason to destroy Avatar, am I right?" He made a quick deal as he looked at the figure who slightly lifted his head at his statement.

"... I work undercover for the Magic Council to dismantle the guild from the inside. I could only tell you this because you knocked one of my supposed guildmates. I can only confirm your intentions after what you did to Jerome and so I'd like to clear up some things before us if you think I'm part of them." Gray continued as his eyes gazed seriously at the cloaked figure who was still unmoving from his position.

"..." Again, Natsu didn't speak.

"... If you want proof, I will report to my handler." After that, he took some sort of a lacrima phone from his pocket and began swiping something on its screen.

At the same time, the marks on his body disappeared, surprising Natsu in the process but remained composed and waited.

"This is Code Blue. I've found him... No, that's not it... Yeah... I think we got a bit of understanding with each other right now so you have to talk to him about it." Gray paused in each sentence before throwing the lacrima phone towards him.

"Put that in your ear. My handler wants to speak with you."

However, instead of doing what he says, Natsu simply crushed the phone with his fist.

"What are you doing?!-" He shouted.

"I don't want anyone interfering us, Gray... This should be the perfect time we can talk to each other alone." For the first time, he spoke in which the ice mage recognized his voice in just an instant.

"T-That voice... Could it be that you-"

At the same time, the figure unveiled his cloak and revealed his identity to him. A sway of pink hair appeared in his eyes as Natsu looked at his former rival and guildmate with an emotionless look.

"It's been a long time, Gray." Natsu greeted which left the ice mage stuttering after knowing the real identity of the rumored Crimson Demon.

"N-Natsu?"

"I believe we have a bit of a misunderstanding earlier. I was just making sure that you don't have kill Rogue and the others."

"I had no choice, Natsu... Avatar isn't just a small organization that you could go around beating them one by one. Their branches are complex so we waited for the right time for them to assemble."

"So that reason alone would give you the option of killing them?" Natsu spoke with enmity.

"Says the one who killed many dark mages in the few months that sparked the recognition of his menace. You're quite the talker, aren't you, Salamander?" Another familiar voice resounded from behind as the two looked back and saw Gajeel along with some familiar faces.

"G-Gajeel? What are you doing here?" Gray asked in surprise.

"Gihi, you think I'm letting you off the hook that easily. I heard quite well enough about you though I don't get quite the thing behind your undercover mission without informing us about it." He retorted.

"Old man Warrod wanted to minimize the people involved so this mission is not revealed to the rest of the Council," Gray explained.

"I see... So that's what it was."

On the other hand, Levy and Lily soon looked at the pinkette in surprise.

"Natsu!" The dragonslayer ignored their gazes and fell silent.

At the same time, Gajeel turned his attention over to the dragonslayer with a serious expression.

"Now, I think it's time to let our other friend here to say something about himself."

"I have nothing to say to you nor to anyone, Gajeel. Right now, my only goal is to bring down Avatar on my own." Natsu replied coldly.

"Own? Well, perhaps you should explain about your other companion with you. I thought I was just imagining things but the scent is oddly familiar alright..." He retorted.

"What are you talking about, Gajeel?" Gray asked, however, the iron dragonslayer ignored the ice mage for a moment and looked at the pinkette dead in the eyes.

"I'll ask you personally, Natsu... Are you siding with Tartaros?" His eyes showed hostility as Natsu felt his growing anger. Instead, he dismissed his intimidating nature and answered.

"Who knows? What makes you think I'm part of Tartaros?"

"We got evidence. That master from Behemoth told everything about you and that other demon." He replied.

"So you're gonna believe only on his words? I thought you knew better than that." Natsu chuckled but Gajeel remained unfazed.

"What did you say?!"

"Enough of this nonsense... I came here to destroy Avatar. I don't intend to talk with all of you." Natsu tried to walk away from the scene and head towards the dark guild until-

In an instant, Natsu lifted his left hand to protect him from an incoming iron blade aimed straight from above him. His eyes slowly gazed back at the iron dragonslayer who started to attack him without warning that shocked everyone.

"Gajeel!" Gray and the others exclaimed in surprise at his sudden hostility against the pinkette.

"Hoh?" Natsu remarked at his angered expression.

"I'll ask you again, Natsu... ARE YOU SIDING WITH TARTAROS?!"

"And what if I do?" He gave him a blank answer.

"Then, I'll defeat you here right now!"

"Are you testing me?" He smirked before a swirl of dark red flames appeared on his left arm and simply chanted his spell with a merciless expression.

 **"Demonic Fire Dragon's Hell Wave!"** Gajeel was left surprised as a massive stream of fire was shot towards him, sending him back and crashed on a distance as Levy and Lily widened their eyes in disbelief.

"Gajeel!"

"What do you think you're doing, Natsu?!" Gray moved into his stance in caution until Natsu gave a warning to them.

 **"Don't stand in my way... Even if we're friends, I won't hold back."** He spoke in a rather menacing tone as Gray felt a strong pressure coming from his body. It was unlike he'd seen before.

Is this the real Natsu right now?

With a swift glance, he tried to make his way back to the dark guild until a magic flare was shot through the sky as Jerome fired an alarm signal to Avatar. Their eyes widen in shock at the light above them.

"W-What the?"

"Shit! They knew we're here! It has begun!" Gray cursed as he looked at the flare above them.

"What's happening?!" Levy asked.

"The ritual is starting. The whole army is now advancing to Malba!" Gray explained.

"It's too soon!" Lily spoke.

"Heh, y-you're all fools..." Out from the corner of their eyes, Jerome weakly replied as he looked at the flare above him with blood streaking down from his mouth after Natsu knocked him out.

The others looked at him in disbelief after realizing what he had done. It seemed like he took the advantage of their argument and fired an alarm to the dark guild to begin the ritual.

"T-The ritual will begin... A-All will bow before him. O-Our creed... will be fulfilled. A-All is to be done for Zeref. Y-You will all die before the might of Avatar! Haha!" Jerome laughed wickedly until a shadow loomed over to his body and saw the pinkette with a dark look.

"I should've killed you when I have the chance..." He raised his hand and formed a miniature fireball on his palm, aimed at his chest.

 **"If you wish to return to Zeref so much, I'll gladly give you a swift death."**

But before he could even kill the wounded dark mage, his right hand immediately froze in ice as he looked from his side and saw Gray with his spell aimed at him.

"What are you doing, Gray?"

"I won't let you kill him, Natsu..."

"Are you stopping me?" He replied with enmity as Gray looked at him with the same expression.

"To think that you would the have courage to actually kill someone without hesitation. Is that really you, Natsu?"

"..."

After that, Gray began to use his magic as he clasped his hands together before ice mists formed around him. Natsu melted the ice instantly and looked at Gray with hostility. All of a sudden, their magical powers accelerated in an instant as Levy and the others felt their intense pressure.

A glow of red and blue emerged from their bodies as the two stood in defiance towards each other.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!"

With a cry, Levy tried to stop them from fighting each other as she helped Gajeel back on his feet with a teary-eyed expression.

"This is no time to be fighting with each other! We still got Avatar on the loose! We should work together and stop them from finishing their ritual!" Lily shouted to calm the two down.

Eventually, the two realized this and simply lowered their powers once again.

"You have a point. Things are not looking good with them running around." Gray agreed.

"We'll have to do something about them!" Levy suggested.

Gajeel and Gray looked at the pinkette with anticipation.

"We can discuss everything later. Let's get to Malba Town and stop the ritual. You're going to help, aren't you, Natsu?" Gray asked.

"..."

Instead of answering him, Natsu dashed forth towards the town, leaving the group in just a few seconds.

"I'll take that as a yes then." Gray sighed before looking back to the others.

"We're going to search the dark guild and arrest any remaining members inside. You and Gajeel should follow Natsu as well. It might work to stop the ritual if the two of you are there with him." Levy suggested.

Gray and Gajeel nodded before sprinting off into the distance as they both followed the direction where the pinkette disappeared.

"Damn that idiot."

* * *

 **A/N: And the chapter ends here. The meeting between old rivals is revealed. I don't have anything to say to this chapter except that I enjoyed writing it but what about you guys? Leave a comment and tell me what you think.**

 **As always, thanks for all your support. I think this will be the last fast update, I doing for this story and will focus on the other stories as well.**

 **I'll see you in the next chapter.**

 **\- wiErD SpeCtrumz blacking out… … …**


	15. Ikusatsunagi

**A/N: Sup guys, wiErD here and I've got another chapter for you all.**

 **Just a reminder to everyone wondering about Natsu's power levels. Just look at his two arms that both resembled Dragon and Demon markings. He was never going full power on it until now so you can safely say that he's not even trying. And please, don't leave the others in the dust like Gray and the others.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for my plots. Everything else is owned by Hiro Mashima. Support the official release.**

* * *

 **\- Ikusatsunagi –**

In the outskirts of Malba Town, thousands of cultists have gathered in an open field just a few kilometers away and stared momentarily in the town's peaceful activities. People inside the walls are completely oblivious to what's going to happen. However, their lives don't matter on their part as their creed to bring Zeref closer to them is only a few steps away.

There's nothing more that could stop them or their ritual.

The deaths of many innocents will draw the Black Mage towards them. The time has come for them to make everyone realize that the world will now belong to Zeref alone.

Situated on top of a hill were the elite members of Avatar. Consisting of only eight people, including Gray and Jerome, these were the most feared dark mages all over the country due to their Black Magic.

"It's time to begin our ritual," Arlock announced. The other elites looked at the priest in anticipation as they both hailed their praises to the sky along with the rest of the armies who simply raised their weapons high in the air.

The sounds of the shouts deafened the air around them as they prepared themselves for the Purification ritual.

As the morale of their army increases, Braiya looked at the surrounding armies before them.

"Are sure about that signal? If it was raised, Jerome and Gray should've been back by now." Abel asked after seeing the lack of their two members. The one, however, defected without them knowing although they don't seem to care what happens to them.

"If Jerome had the gall to blow off that signal, that means the enemy is near or perhaps..." Mary assumed to which the others narrowed their eyes in suspicion.

"The Crimson Demon. A cunning opponent indeed." Goumon mused.

"It doesn't matter who or what he is. He's already too late to stop us. Look at the sheer number of worshippers that have gathered. Nothing is going to stand in our way, not even the reformed Magic Council." Braiya voiced out in pride.

"Rumors about the two Demons is that they're the remnants of Tartaros," D-6 muttered silently from his dark armor.

"The reign of the Balam Alliance is over. Avatar shall now take its place as the new head and we will rebuild the world for Lord Zeref!" Arlock declared.

The rest of the elite members agreed as they slowly marched their troops further towards the city.

..

..

..

Meanwhile, Gray and Gajeel moved together in their horses as they tried to pick up the pace to confront the approaching army. With Natsu already in the lead, seemingly not keen on making them catch up to his pace, the two are left in the dust.

Despite that, the two offered no such hostility towards him and simply focused their objective in bringing down Avatar for good.

Gray, on the other hand, doesn't know if Erza could pick up the signal earlier. The distance of her hideout should be close enough to see the alarm signal but without his lacrima phone, he can't say for sure if their mission was compromised, no thanks to the pinkette by the way.

However, his mind thought back about the words that Gajeel has asked him earlier. And since the iron dragonslayer is here with him, it's probably the perfect time to ask him some questions as well.

"So what are you saying about Natsu siding with Tartaros?" He asked.

"You don't need to know, Ice-stick... I know your history with Tartaros so doesn't even bother asking about it. This is something personal that I should confirm before I could regard Salamander as our enemy."

"Don't give me that crap. If I don't give a damn about your opinion on this, I wouldn't be asking anyway. Plus, don't sound like you're running the ropes here. This is Natsu we're talking about." Gray retorted. His eyes glared at him in enmity.

"You really want to know?" He looked at him in anticipation but Gray answered with a defiant look as the iron dragonslayer sighed in response before speaking.

"Salamander is not the same as we thought he was before. Of course, you've heard the rumors about the two Demons that had been hunting down other dark guilds related to Avatar." He started.

"Yeah... Did you know it was him all along?"

"I had my suspicions at first but I don't want to assume things yet but the scent was oddly familiar even though it was well-hidden. And the news about Tartaros being reformed for some reason makes me want to think that Salamander must've gotten himself into some nasty business after his disappearance." He explained.

That explanation made the ice-mage ponder for a moment.

He can't say he's convinced since there's a lot of scenarios that could happen to the pinkette in his disappearance but the way he acts towards them now doesn't seem to add up, especially with the rumor about him siding with Tartaros.

It's just crazy to think about it. And Natsu of all people? How would a person who fought against their enemy side with them in that span of a year?

"What makes you think about that?"

"Like I said, I had my suspicions. And from what he had done to us, it doesn't really help him get out of this mess... Honestly, I thought you would be more surprised than I am. After all, you two are on the same team." Gajeel looked back at him with a grin.

"That was over a year ago. I don't know if he still cares about that given how he acted against us earlier. He's changed." Gray replied.

"It's good that you understand. If we could convince him to tell everything, we might get the answers we need and probably what happened to him during his disappearance."

The ice mage only nodded in response as they hurried their pace towards Malba Town to defend it against the approaching enemies. Now is not the time to be discussing other matters. The safety of the people needs to be prioritized first before everything else.

..

..

Minutes later, they eventually made it out into the forest but the army is already getting closer towards the town with nothing but stone walls to protect them from such a huge assault. Their eyes gazed over to Natsu who stood there doing nothing as if he was watching it from afar.

"Shit, we're not gonna make it in time!" Gajeel cursed.

"..." Natsu simply put on his hood to mask his face and dashed straight towards the entrance in fast speeds. The two were left behind yet again as they watched him approach the gates in just a matter of seconds.

"Damn show-off... Even at a time like this?" The iron dragonslayer muttered in irritation.

"We have to catch up to him. We'll have to hold the entrance and push them back altogether."

However, before the two could even rush towards the battlefield, a familiar voice called out from the distance as Lucy and the others finally arrived at the scene, conveniently meeting up with the two. Gray, however, widened his eyes in surprise after seeing Juvia amongst them.

"Gray-sama!" She called out his name in a rather affectionate voice.

"J-Juvia?! What are you doing here? I told you not to go over here until it's over!"

"Juvia is worried about Gray-sama so Juvia wanted to help. Lucy-san and the others came along too. Juvia told them about the situation." She began explaining as soon as the others approached as well.

"Lucy... and Wendy too? What the hell is going on?"

"We're here to help! We happened to find Juvia and she told us about your mission." Lucy began to explain. However, it only made the ice-mage feel dumbfounded as soon as they found out about their mission.

"Damn it, now even the information is leaked... She's not gonna like this." Gray scratched his head in irritation.

"Don't worry, Wendy and the others are the only ones who knew about the situation. The information is still not leaked." Lucy reassured.

There was a moment of hesitation from the ice-mage as he looked at the four with uncertainty. Involving them will put them in a huge risk but in their current situation, there's no time to lose.

"Hurry up, Gray! We need to regroup with Salamander and help him push back the dark mages!" Out on the corner, Gajeel is getting impatient as he watches the army closes in the town.

His words however simply caught attention to some of the group as Lucy and the others stared at the iron dragonslayer in surprise.

"E-Eh? Natsu-san was here... with you?"

"Then that person earlier was–" Happy gazed into the distance until Gajeel finished it.

"It's him...but this is no time for questions about him. Right now, we need to do something about that dark guild."

He spoke as if he doesn't care anything at all. His attention is more focused on his job as a Council Detention Corps Captain.

It doesn't matter to him if Salamander intends to cooperate or not. He needs all the help that he can get from his friends.

The group seemed to agree with his suggestion as they all set aside their questions and prepared to set their way towards the town.

"Of course, we'll lend a hand!" Lucy agreed in which all of them nodded in response. Happy and Carla both grabbed the two while Juvia hopped on behind Gray's horse, much to his depression. The group settled once more into the battlefield as they try to approach the pinkette.

..

..

..

On the other hand, Natsu instantly arrived at the entrance of the city. His eyes looked over to the advancing army with a silent thought. If they reached inside the city walls, it'll be a massacre. He can't let anymore innocents die in the hands of these false worshippers.

He stretched his right arm sideways. The cape hovered at his sudden movement as flames slowly burst out from it and arched it back in front of him. Despite his concealed face, his eyes glared darkly over the army in front of him.

 **"Demonic Fire Dragon King's Hellbound Fist!"** Slamming his fist down to the ground, a massive shockwave went straight over to the army at full speeds. The ground trembled ferociously as the rocks broke away, causing massive land destruction accompanied by a large stream of flames that blew them back.

Braiya and the other elite members widened in shock as they saw their army being pushed back from getting into the city. Even the ground shook as far towards the Mikage Forest that even Levy and the others could feel its tremor.

"W-What in the world is happening?"

"It's him! It's the Crimson Demon!" One of the men shouted in fear as he stared in shock at the destruction laid onto his comrades who have either been blown away or scorched by the raging flames.

And due to that, the whole army halted its advance on the city as Natsu stood defiantly alone against them.

More than a thousand cultists were engulfed in the destruction and the path leading to the city was nothing more but crumbling wasteland.

"W-What power?"

Words can't describe the devastation of land caused by him alone. It's nothing like they'd ever seen it before. A scale of this power is much more powerful even to the strongest mages gathered here in Fiore.

At that moment, Natsu glared at the army with a dark gaze. Fear instantly crept into their hearts as they tried to make a run for it.

"I-Is this the Crimson Demon's power?"

"R-Run! He's a monster!"

"W-What kind of person is he?!"

"Stand your ground! The enemy is only one! The sheer number of our army cannot be broken by a mere monster! Get rid of him!" Braiya tried to increase their morale just so they would not run in fear.

The others steeled themselves and glared at the pinkette in return to show their determination to break through.

However, just as the army tried to resume their advance, another group of people stood in front the pinkette much to their surprise. One of them seemingly familiar to the elite members as Braiya gritted her teeth in anger towards that person.

"Gray..."

"So he was a spy... I suspected as much!"

"Unforgivable!"

Going back at the city, Gray and the others made it to the entrance, thanks to Natsu for stalling their advance. Shock appeared on their eyes at first after seeing the broken landscape before them. A number of casualties caught more than half of the army. They didn't know he was this powerful.

Even so, this is no time to be surprised at the moment. At least now, they're back together as a team.

"It's been a long while since we're like this..." Lucy spoke with confidence.

"Let's drive them back, Natsu-san!"

However, Natsu dismissed the friendly atmosphere between his friends and simply went past them before slightly glancing back.

"I'll take on their leader... Don't get in my way." With a cold tone, he dashed away from them and zoomed past the army. The group could only watch in shock as he flared his flames over the horizon to defeat the leader by himself.

"Natsu!" The voices of his friends tried to call him back but they were eventually ignored.

"What's wrong with him? I don't understand." Juvia was confused.

"Damn, that idiot! Even though we're trying to help, he still acts like a jerk!" Gray hissed.

"Forget Salamander! We'll have to focus on our fight now! Here they come!" Gajeel steeled himself against the approaching army.

Lucy and the others could feel disheartened as they watch him disappear in sight once more, leaving them with nothing to say to each other.

"Don't worry... I'm sure there's a reason behind his actions. Right now, we should just focus on doing our part and defeat our enemy."

Gray knew cheering them up will not help them one bit. He was never good at this kind of thing. Only the pinkette could do such things whenever they feel hopeless in a fight. But now...

It seems like the very person that lights up the whole group is not the same person they have met in past couple of months.

If Lucy or Wendy hadn't been that strong, the team would've fallen apart.

 _'You better have a good reason for doing like this, Natsu...'_

* * *

The advancing army continues. Gray and the others began their fight as they successfully pushed every single one of them away from the city. Their magic has improved over the past year and was capable of handling much of the dark mages thrown towards them.

Braiya and the rest of the elites stood in a fair distance away from them. They watched as more of their men get pummeled by the group's respective magic, hindering their completion of the ritual.

"I-It's no use! Even though there's only six of them..."

"We'll pay them back! We still have our armies from behind. We shall continue to swarm them until they are overrun!" Braiya ordered the rest of the men. They all roared in unison as they charged down the hill to attack the defending mages.

"Let us go as well... We shall show them the power of our Black Magic!"

With a unified nod, the rest of the elite members moved towards the front line to confront their enemies. However, they were stopped as a zooming ball of fire approaches to them.

Flames dissipate as Natsu landed right in front of them with his face finally revealed to them. His eyes glared darkly over to the dark mages as they steeled themselves against him. Normally, one person could simply lose their will to fight just by looking at his eyes alone.

Aside from his overwhelming power, facing him is only a death sentence. And yet these elites are yet to realize that as well due to their growing confidence.

"So, you're the Crimson Demon. The one responsible for the destruction of some of our branches." Braiya declared. All of them brought out their Black Magic against him, after feeling his tremendous power once again.

"It seems like you made it easy for us to find you now... We got you surrounded boy!" Goumon threatened.

"No matter what you do, you cannot stop the Purification ritual! It has already begun!"

However, their threats were answered by blank air as Natsu shook his head before speaking in a dark voice.

 **"Don't stand in my way."**

Along with his intimidating nature, a sudden increase of his power forced Braiya and the others to jump back away in defense but not long before their eyes fell into shock as Natsu begins to chant his spell against all of them at once.

"Wha-"

..

..

 **"Demonic Fire Dragon's Whirling Hell!"** He simply swiped his arm sideways before a massive circle of fire erupted around him and blew everything away in an instant. The fire grew large and blasted a huge hole in the army's formation.

The elites of Avatar were not given the time to react at all as their bodies were scorched and flung away further into the field. There was no resistance against him. They completely underestimated him and took the price.

The once feared elites of Avatar are nothing but scorched bodies that tumbled away in the battlefield. Natsu never gave mercy.

As soon as the cultists found their strongest dark mages in defeat, their spirits were immediately crushed with fear as they looked at the lone mage standing on the circle of fire.

"H-He defeated all of them... in an instant!?"

"I-Impossible!" Shouts of disbelief went over to the ranks of the army. This is no longer a battle against him. It's a one-sided match between them and the feared dragonslayer.

The surrounding men ran away from him in fear as Natsu easily stood victorious over their elites.

However, it didn't take long for him to wait as he glanced over to the farther side of the army and locked his eyes over to the priest. Arlock was a bit surprised at the distant gaze as if he felt a sudden chill coming from the pinkette.

Defeating his elite members in just one blow, he's nothing more but a menace. An unstoppable disaster that no one could ever stop. It's like he's facing destruction itself.

In defense of his safety, Arlock immediately waved his staff as multiple orbs were shot towards the pinkette in the far distance, ignoring even to his allies who were also about to be caught in the crossfire.

Natsu sprinted forward to meet the attack and deflected each of them in quick succession. The priest took another step in surprise before sending a new array of impenetrable shields in front of him to block.

"Burn..." In just an utter of a word, the flames surrounded him and melted the shields in an instant.

"I-Impossible!" Arlock was shocked but his moment of surprise was halted as the pinkette zoomed in towards him before calling out his spell.

 **"Demonic Fire Dragon's Raging Fist!"** With a tremendous punch to the face, Natsu sent Arlock down to the ground, cracking his ornamental mask while also smashing the whole land before them due to his powerful spell.

Unfortunate members have been simply blown away from the destruction as Natsu lay standing over Arlock who managed to stay conscious despite the force of the punch sent towards him.

"Your army is scattered, your elites are defeated... There's nothing more left of you to continue this pointless ritual. If you want live, I suggest you surrender and tell us what you know about Zeref." Natsu warned as he balls up his fist in flames towards him.

However, only a cackled laughter was heard from him as soon the mask broke into pieces, revealing his rather burned face to him with a wicked grin.

"Insolent mage... Everything up until now is exactly as I predicted. I should thank you for hasting the ritual itself." He laughed in victory.

"What are you talking about?" Natsu asked in enmity, completely bewildered by the priest' words.

"This is the price I paid and I did it willingly! I burnt my face just for this day. There was never a chance to slaughter people. In fact, the people who believed in the Black Mage will be the sacrifice for this ritual!"

"What did you say?!" Natsu grabbed his collar in anger as Arlock continues to laugh at his confusion.

Stretching his arms towards the heavens, the priest began to summon his ultimate magic.

 **"O Mighty God of War. The time has come for you to seal our part of the deal! Grant me your powers for our salvation!"** With a chant, the sky from above began to change.

The quality of magic also shifted as Natsu could feel the sudden gathering of enormous amounts of magic particles in the sky. The winds blew heavily as a seemingly large dark cyclone covered the bright sun above them, obscuring its light as both the army and the group back at the city looked towards the sky in shock.

The heat of the battle was instantly stopped. The clash of weapons and magic were halted in the sudden interference of magic pressure around them.

"W-What is that?" Lucy narrowed her eyes towards the skies.

"I feel a giant swirl of magic..." Gray muttered.

"Could it be–" Gajeel immediately realized the recognition of the summoning magic.

On the other hand, the enemy celebrated as soon as they saw Arlock's magic at play for the first time.

"It's Master Arlock's Summoning Magic!"

"With this we're unstoppable!" Their morale increases, feeling that they gained the upper hand for witnessing such a powerful surge of magic gathered in one place.

However, their moment of celebration came to an abrupt end as the ground before them shook tremendously. Lightning struck in all places and releasing thundering roars over the distance as the hovering cyclone of magic slowly widens its hole.

After a moment, a giant foot appeared in the skies, shocking the whole group at its unusual nature.

"A huge foot?! Just what kind of monster did they summon?!" Lucy asked in disbelief. However, their eyes now fall over to the oblivious cultists who were about to be crushed by its gigantic size.

"Move away all of you! It'll crush all of you!" Gray tried to warn them but it was too late.

The monster foot stomped the ground for the first time, causing a large tremor as multiple men were either crushed or blown away.

"R-Run! It's going to crush us!"

Confusion and disbelief went over to the remaining cultists as the monster slowly revealed bits of its appearance from the skies.

After a few minutes, its full nature is finally shown to the rest of the army. A colossal monster stood defiantly before Malba Town and the army. His face resembles that of a lion's, jutting out of which two horns are seen on its cheekbones while also having bone-like horns that are slightly larger than the ones on its cheek in which locates on the side of the head itself.

His skin was jet-black, resembling the night itself as its enormous shadow looms over to the whole army. A more worthy note on his appearance was his giant sword that is carried on his right hand which serves as its main weapon.

"Muahahaha! This is the Purification Ritual! The sacrifice was neither the souls of the town but rather to the souls of Lord Zeref's worshippers as they also carried their beliefs as well. That is the necessary fulfillment for this summoning as this ritual shall draw us closer to Zeref as well!"

"Behold! The Ikusa-Tsunagi! One of the Battle Gods of Yakuma! None shall stop its mighty destruction! It won't stop until every living soul in this country is offered to him!" Arlock shouts in victory as his words go forth to the summoned god before them.

"Watch out! Incoming!" Gajeel braced the rest of the group even to the army itself as the titan swung his sword violently down to the ground.

What came after that was a sudden depletion of air around them. All witnesses held the air inside their lungs as the mighty sword slashed the earth, tearing the ground apart for a couple of kilometers in distance. Massive clouds of debris were launched to air and many cultists were caught up in the swing and broke apart their formation as they ran away in fear from the god itself.

The massive chasm was seen from the split ground as people tried to help their comrades from falling. Gray and the others scorned at the merciless treatment of Arlock towards his comrades.

"Even his comrades too..."

"Where the hell is Natsu?!"

"At this rate, even the town would be destroyed as well."

..

..

On the other side of the battlefield, Natsu lets go of his hold from Arlock's collar and shadowed his face in the process. The priest looked in confusion at his sudden change of action.

"This is no different from a massacre... You never intend to let every one of your comrades live from the start." He muttered.

"This is the ultimate sacrifice for those who believed in Zeref. Our salvation is by returning to him and offer the world to him." Arlock said.

"There is no salvation from a man who brings nothing but death in his path."

"What are you implying about? You cannot stop the god of war! It will only stop as long as its deal is finally fulfilled!"

"I wonder about that..." Natsu challenged the priest as he looked at the monster before him. After a moment, he stared at the fleeing cultists in the vicinity before his lips turned into a smile after noticing a familiar power being drawn towards the giant monster.

As the monster tries to move, it suddenly found itself restricted to move any further as if it was being controlled.

Arlock looked at the monster before him in confusion.

"W-Why isn't he moving?"

Natsu simply watched the giant but not long before a familiar cloaked figure appeared on the scene. His expression turned into relief as Sayla returned back after delivering the injured mages back to Sabertooth safe and sound.

Arlock widened his eyes in disbelief at the power residing within the girl.

"You're late..."

"Sneaking the mages without the risk of being revealed is quite difficult. Well, at least I made it in time."

"It seems like it... Finish it, Sayla." Natsu requested.

"Of course..." With a slow swipe from her right arm, Sayla controlled the giant with her Macro as it began to lift up its giant sword before him.

Moments later, the giant turned its weapon against it until he finally thrusts it forward to its chest, shocking the entire people witnessing it. A massive hole was created on its chest as the sword was pierced towards it.

Others were left in disbelief as they saw the war god suddenly killing itself without any explanation. Even Gajeel and the rest of the group were surprised as well.

"W-What just happened?" Juvia stuttered in shock.

"I don't know but it seems like Natsu did it!" Lucy called out in relief.

Arlock stuttered in shock as Ikusa-Tsunagi began to crumble into pieces along with weapon, turning it into a pile of debris that crashed into the ground like a shattered statue. The summoning was ended in just a flick of a finger by one person.

"I-Impossible?! How could a mere human control a god?!"

"We're not humans..." Sayla corrected.

"We're demons."

"D-Demons? Tartaros?!" Those words went inside the priest's thoughts as he began to realize it.

..

..

..

The battle ended as the remaining army began to surrender as soon as their war god was defeated. Weapons clattered down to the ground, leaving all of them to willingly surrender themselves. The combined forces of Avatar were finally defeated.

Soon afterward, Levy and the rest of the Detention Corps arrived at the scene and began to call out the arrest on the dark mages.

"This is the Magic Council's Detention Corps! Release your weapons and surrender peacefully!" Lily shouted as the councilmen began issuing multiple arrests on the surviving members. The aftermath resulted in the majority of cultists being taken away to prison.

The two eventually met up with the group as Lucy greeted her best friend.

"Levy-chan! It's good to see you again!"

"It's been a long time, Lu-chan... I really appreciate for keeping in touch with us even after all this time." Levy returned with a cheerful expression as the rest of the group finally settled down after the long fight against the army.

"I'm glad that we managed to defend the town..." Gray heaved a sigh of relief.

"No one got hurt except for a couple of cultists who were caught up in that blast earlier. I'll have to make a report to the Council about the situation as soon as possible." Levy announced but not long before she looked at Gray in anticipation.

"But before that, let's cut to the chase. I suppose I understand your mission back at Avatar. Actually, you had us fooled for a second there. You being a part of Avatar and all." She spoke.

"Well, Erza and I thought about the plan along with old man Warrod. I just find it surprising that we're both doing the same thing." Gray replied though the mention of a certain scarlet knight drew everyone's attention.

"Erza-san?"

"Yeah... She was the one overseeing the mission all this time. I'm surprised that she haven't shown up yet. The ritual started so she should've joined along in the fight." Gray pondered in thought.

"Anyways, we appreciate your help in the fight. I don't think we could've made it if it weren't for you guys." Lily smiled at the others who only flailed their arms in embarrassment.

"I-It's nothing! I'm actually glad that we're all back together now." Lucy smiled.

The rest of the group smiled along with her as they all celebrated their victory against their enemy. It's been a year since they last fought side by side and it was really nostalgic for them.

"In any case, the town is safe for now. There won't be any more dark guilds forming around in this time now that Avatar is been defeated.

"I'll inform the Magic Council about the situation. At least, that would give them some assurance now with the dark guilds being subdued-" Levy was about to contact them via lacrima orb until-

"We'll get to that soon..." Gajeel cut her off as he looked over to the far side of the battlefield.

"Right now, we need to ask that damn Salamander about all the things he had done." As soon as he mentioned Natsu, everyone remembered about the pinkette who hasn't returned yet.

"Where is he?"

"Over there... And it looks like he's not alone." The iron dragonslayer muttered in anger as he picked up the unfamiliar scent alongside with him.

.

.

.

As the growing arrests of the councilmen approach their position, Natsu grabbed the priest collar for questions.

"Now, let's talk about what you know about Zeref." His voice was dark and full of malice as a means to scare him off to spill the information.

He was expecting him to resist but the expression of the priest simply gave up his assumption.

"I-I don't know where he is! We were only cultists who follow the creed of the past dark guilds that have failed to start the ritual. The Balam Alliance knew better about the Black Mage but after its fall, we decided to take the role of it!" He spoke in fear as he could see a flaming fist aimed right into his chest as Natsu listens to his every word.

"So you know nothing at all, huh?"

"I-I swear! That's all I know! This is why we started the Purification Ritual. To draw Zeref close to us!"

"Natsu... I think we came here for nothing. These people are blinded followers. No one has ever successfully drawn Zeref closer by anyone. I'd think that he's not on this continent anymore." Sayla seemed to believe the priest as she explained further.

At that time, Natsu dissipated his flames and dropped him back at the ground before looking at her in anticipation.

"If he's not here on this continent, where can we possibly find him? I never ventured far out from Fiore. And there are many continents out here in Earthland." He explained.

"For now, we should fall back and reassess our situation. We can lie back and wait until something happens." Sayla suggested.

"I don't want to lie around and wait. Zeref is still out there and he might be doing something. We can't let him catch us by surprise."

But just as they were about to depart from the scene, a familiar figure emerged in front of them, seemingly blocking their way out of the area as she stood on the road with a sword placed down on the ground.

She wore an elegant armor which covers the majority of her body in a steel-clad outfit. The sound of metal clashing resounded as she slowly walks towards them before stopping in a fair distance between them.

A flow of scarlet hair blew past from behind as the wind swooped on her figure, blowing the dust that obscures her figure from them though Natsu already realized the person just by her scent.

"I thought something was up but it seems like you were waiting all this time, Erza..." Natsu smiled. His eyes gazed in expectation as the said woman replied with a calm voice.

"Gray and the others can handle it given that you were also in the fight."

"You're the person I had my guard on for awhile since you won't stop locating me after my disappearance," Natsu spoke casually.

"What happened, Natsu? I want to know your reasons behind your actions." Erza's voice suddenly changed. But the dragonslayer dismissed it and cared less of her sudden change of tone.

"There's no reason behind it. I chose it willingly."

"Then perhaps you should explain why a member of Tartaros stands beside you now. What did they do to you?" Erza sounded both worried and cautious as she saw Sayla tried using her Macro until she was stopped by Natsu.

She looked up in surprise at him as he gave her a gesture to stand down. Sayla hesitated for a moment but complied as well as she stood behind him in the process.

"That's none of your business, Erza."

"Natsu! This is not like you at all. How could you say that after what they did to us? To our guild?! They're the reason why we all broke apart!" She raised her voice out of concern.

However, the next words immediately stopped her.

"I was the one who broke Fairy Tail apart. Not Tartaros." He spoke.

"W-What?"

"I don't intend to return back. I'm not part of Fairy Tail anymore. If you understand that, you should let us go. We only came here for the destruction of the dark guilds. At least, I can assure you that we don't harm any innocent people." Natsu grabbed hold of Sayla's hand and tried to walk away until another voice stopped them from behind.

"You're not going anywhere, Natsu... Not until you told us what happened to you."

Lightning sparks appeared on the other end of the road as a muscular figure blocked their way out along with Erza who stood at the other end.

It didn't take long as the rest of the group eventually caught up with the scene and are surprised to see two of their guildmates confronting the dragonslayer along with the unknown figure beside him.

Shock appeared on the pinkette's eyes as he stuttered in surprise at the person before him.

"Laxus?"

* * *

 **A/N: And there you have it, guys. Sorry to leave this again with a cliffhanger since the word count reached its limit. It would be one chapter with 11k words or so but I decided to break it into two chapters that will soon lead to the Alvarez Arc.**

 **Anyways, take a review and tell me what you think of the chapter so far. Also, thank you all for the replies and reviews about this story. It really gives me an appreciation for making a huge effort in this story so far.**

 **Thanks again and I'll see you in the next chapter.**

 **\- wiErD SpeCtrumz blacking out… … …**


	16. Missing

**A/N: Sup guys, wiErD here and I've got another chapter for you all.**

 **As promised, this is the split chapter that I made to divide the last chapter and added some few things to hint some plot bridge to the Alvarez Arc.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for my plots. Everything else is owned by Hiro Mashima. Support the official release.**

* * *

 **\- Missing -**

"You're not getting anywhere, Natsu... Not until you told us what happened to you." As Laxus blocked his path, Natsu stuttered in surprise as he recognized the muscular man right in front of him.

His large, brown coat fluttered sideways as the wind smoothly blew past him. His hairstyle changed than what Natsu thought him to have as he now sported a slicker hair with small strands hanging on his forehead.

His arms are crossed sideways and were hidden due to the fur trimmings of his coat. And the lightning bolt scar that is usually seen in his right eye was recognized by him. His cold attitude still never changed given how he stopped him from escaping just now though he seemed colder than usual.

Lightning sparks emerged from his body as he stood in defiance against Natsu and Sayla. The overwhelming magic power slightly forced them to take a small step away from him until their eyes landed on the other side with Erza standing with the same expression as his.

"Laxus?"

At some moment later, the rest of the group appeared on the scene, only to be left surprised at the appearance of both Laxus and Erza. Although that didn't stop them from calling out the name of the person they wanted the see the most.

"Natsu!" Happy was the first one to utter his name from the group but the pinkette blatantly ignored him and looked at Laxus in anticipation.

"Erza... and Laxus? What's going on here?" Gray and the others who aren't aware of the situation gave a perplexed look.

"I never thought you would show up yourself, Laxus... What happened with Freed and the others?" On the other hand, Natsu proceeds to ask the new visitor until Erza answered for him.

"I invited him here a few days before the ritual. He's also well aware of your identity a few months back, Natsu. And we all needed an answer from what happened a year back."

"Natsu," Laxus spoke once again with a serious tone. "Why do you side with the dark guild that caused us so much pain? I'm asking you this as a friend because there can't be any reason for you to choose their side."

Truth be told, he never did like the fact of him now taking part of this mess. But with Natsu involved, he wanted to ascertain his reasons behind his doing.

The fire dragonslayer slightly gritted his teeth at his situation right now. He never expected the lightning mage to show up. Not only that, the rest eventually caught with them as his eyes glanced back to his former guildmates who both had confusion and worry written on their faces.

Though except for a few who are demanding an answer from him and Sayla who had yet to reveal her face to them.

He then looked back at Laxus to answer his question.

"Why'd you say? Because I felt like it." His somewhat dark tone immediately got the others tensing up for some reason. There were some who dropped their jaws out of shock from his unnatural reply.

"Don't joke around, Salamander! This is a serious question!" Gajeel was about to turn one of his arms into iron to smash the pinkette out of anger if not for Levy calming him down. His antagonistic nature is really getting on his nerves.

"Gajeel, don't!"

"Natsu, don't take this like it's not our problem. We're doing this for you because you're part of Fairy Tail, our team." Gray calmly spoke with a straight face however, Natsu gave him a glare instead to challenge him.

"Didn't you hear me before? I'm not part of Fairy Tail anymore. Why do you even bring up a guild that disbanded a year ago?" He retorted.

"Fairy Tail is not gone, Natsu! It's always been here within our hearts all this time. We're all getting back together and we need you as well." Lucy reasoned.

"Not this time, Lucy..." He showed his right shoulder to the rest of them as the mark of his guild is already gone. Instead, the crest of Tartaros glowed in its place as the others looked in disbelief at the mark itself.

Even Laxus and Erza were shocked as well as they saw his new guild mark. Others stuttered in fear after seeing the guild crest. For some reason, the old scars from their hearts seemed to resurface as each of them remembered the terrifying battle against the demons a year back.

"I-It can't be..."

"Natsu, you..."

"Why did you erase your guild mark?"

Collective questions of shock were heard within the group as Natsu answered them with a cold voice.

"There's no reason for all of you to bring me back. This is my answer." His eyes shot a cold look that made their hearts sink in shock and disbelief.

"But it doesn't make any sense at all! What made you side with Tartaros in the first place?!" Erza steeled herself, not wanting to believe on his words. She knew he was hiding something from them and she wanted to know what it is.

"Are you really that stubborn? I thought I made myself clear. You should accept reality and leave me be, Erza." Natsu glared at her in irritation.

"You think I would leave you, after all, we've been through together? You gave me a second chance to live and I still haven't repaid you for what you've done to me that time. I want to help you, Natsu." She pleaded.

"The past has nothing to do with me. This is not about you or everyone else, Erza. You clearly don't know who or what you're dealing with." Natsu retorted.

"What are you talking about, Natsu?" Laxus narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"I had enough of this! I'm not going back to Fairy Tail. My time on that guild is long over. You should all realize that after I disappeared."

Adopting a fierce gaze, Natsu swiftly brought their conversation to an end.

"Sorry but I think you're not getting anywhere not until you tell us what really happened." Laxus slightly released a portion of his magic to show him that he does not intend him to go without a second thought.

Lightning sparks emerged from his feet along with some rubble that floated around him due to his intense power.

At the same time, it also triggered the fire dragonslayer's power to release in retaliation as everyone could feel a sudden burst of magical power emanating from Natsu himself. The others simply steeled in alarm as soon as he spoke in a more menacing tone.

"Are you challenging me, Laxus?" The lightning dragonslayer didn't faze at all as he displayed the same tenacity as the pinkette.

"Don't let it end this way, Natsu. We wanted you to come back to us. Just like how you did it to me back then." Laxus reasoned. His eyes locked fiercely towards him in a mix of determination and seriousness in his words.

"Oh, I see... This is your plan all along. I should've expected it the moment I joined in defeating Avatar. You two were waiting for me and you don't intend to let me go in the first place." Natsu chuckled a bit without changing the intensity of his power.

"Natsu. Please just tell us what happened. We can help you." Lucy pleaded.

"We searched everywhere for you, Natsu-san! Please return to us. To Fairy Tail." Wendy begged while holding her tears.

"Stop acting like you're not part of it, Natsu! Cut the crap and just return to us already!" Gray gritted his teeth in anger.

The words of his friends went inside his ears as his face shadowed for a moment. Sayla looked at him with anxiety as she noticed his unmoving gesture.

Then all of a sudden, his head slowly gazed at the ice mage with an emotionless face.

"I doubt you would say that once you knew everything about me, Gray."

"What?" The man in question blinked his eyes in surprise.

"Don't forget your old man's wish, Gray... Because everything is going to change right now."

..

..

Silence assailed in the air but it was enough for all of them to realize what's going to happen.

Natsu both raised his arms in defense as Laxus instantly charged in lightning speed that resulted in a powerful force that cracked the ground beneath the pinkette as he smirked at the lightning mage in anticipation.

At the same time, Sayla leaped away from the sudden attack but not long before she dodged a swinging iron club aimed at her head. She arched her body backward and used her hands to thrust herself back away from the deadly swing.

Unfortunately, the gale created from the swing blew her cover as the hood unveiled her head that only confirmed Gajeel's suspicions.

"So it was you... Who would've thought?" He smirked as he drew back his arm as the rest stuttered in shock after seeing the demon girl. Sayla was left surprised as well but she stayed her hand against them as she doesn't want to hurt anyone.

"I'm not here to cause trouble. I'm only to here to follow Natsu." She spoke her reason though Gajeel seemed to not care at all as he locked his eyes in anger towards her.

"I don't know what you've done to Salamander but I can't let you go after all that suffering you and your demons gave us that time."

Sayla hid her sad expression as she had nothing to say to her actions back then. It was strange of how she stood right now facing her former enemies that she once wants to destroy. Her life with Natsu changed all that and saw them no longer as enemies.

She understood their hatred since she left them with great suffering. She had no right to speak or apologize to them for what she's done.

Another iron club was swung. She does not intend to dodge it or fight against them. Instead, Sayla shut her eyes, horrified at the impending swing.

"Don't you dare talk to her like that!?" Hearing the iron dragonslayer, Natsu pushed back Laxus with ease and raised his fist to protect her from the incoming iron club aimed towards her.

A brief heavy sound of metal being hammered boomed throughout the field. Embers and iron shards scattered into the air as their attacks collided along with a tremendous force that pushed back Gajeel as Natsu stood in front of Sayla with an angered expression.

The others looked at him in disbelief at his sudden hostility – more importantly, his protective nature towards her.

"Natsu..."

"Now you've done it, Salamander. It looks we'll have to do this the hard way and bring you back." Gajeel began activating his Iron Shadow Dragon Mode.

"Natsu. We want to avoid any fighting between us. Do you really want us to be your enemy today?" Laxus threatened.

However, the fire dragonslayer made his own resolve and looked at him with a dark expression.

"Are you?"

This is what he told Gildarts before. They won't just stop until they find out the truth. They won't stop until they bring him back to the guild. He will have no choice in that matter and it simply annoyed him.

Flaring his hands in dark red flames, Natsu brought out a large fire wave around them as the rest of his friends were forced to take a step back from its intense heat. Laxus was the first one to regain his feet and charged right in until he found his body restricted for some reason.

He looked at Sayla who stopped him from moving any further.

"Don't move or you're gonna hurt your body even more. Those magic barrier particles are already taking a toll on your body." She explained.

"H-How did you know that?" Shock flooded his expression as Laxus stared at the demon girl in disbelief after recognizing his body's current condition. It would seem like her being a demon slipped out from his thought.

"I knew very well of Tempester's curse. And it seems like you absorbed them at some point a year before. It was a miracle that you survived up until now."

Erza and the others were surprised at the revelation as they looked at the lightning mage in worry.

"What is she talking about, Laxus?" Gray asked.

However, instead of answering his friends, the lightning dragonslayer focused his attention towards the pinkette with a frustrated look.

Little by little, the restriction of her Macro weakens as Laxus tried to overpower her control on his body. Lightning bolted out from his body as he gazed at the two with a determined look.

"My Macro is being overpowered?" Sayla stuttered in disbelief but was not given the time to react fast as the dragonslayer broke free from her curse and zoomed before her in just a matter of seconds.

Her eyes widened in shock as Laxus slowly arched his fist and aimed it towards her.

"Release Natsu!"

There was no more time to dodge. Sayla could only use her instincts as she closed her eyes and tried to shield herself from the deadly punch until a hazy figure immediately went past her and shielded her from the lightning fist.

A large cloud of smoke emerged from the blast as the others shielded their eyes, obscuring the three at the center.

After a few seconds, the dust settled and revealed an unscathed Natsu alongside with Sayla who stood behind him in surprise. Laxus, on the other hand, was left in shock as his fist was caught by pinkette with ease.

The force and the magic embedded on his attack were easily blocked by one hand but what surprised him the most is the fire dragonslayer's new features.

Two twisted dark horns appeared on his head with his pupils now turning crimson. Visible canines are seen in his mouth, making it seem like a vampire at first glance.

Erza and the others were left surprised at his new appearance. Their expressions turned into horror as they witnessed his demonic form for the first time. Moreover, Gray widened his eyes in shock at his demonic transformation with a mix of emotions rumbling inside his heart.

"N-Natsu?"

The pinkette ignored them and simply focused his eyes towards Laxus.

"Normally, I would just take the attack if it was me but..."

All of a sudden, an exponential growth of his powers was felt within the vicinity as the ground around them shook in its pressure. The force of the pressure was so strong that it forced some of the councilmen on their knees while the rest of the group struggled to stand up.

"W-What power?" Levy stuttered in fear.

"J-Just how powerful you've become, Natsu." Erza steeled herself with her sword until he shot them a dark gaze.

 **"I won't forgive anyone who tries to harm her."** His voice sounded otherworldly as their expression turned into distraught after noticing his anger aimed towards them – his friends.

Flames burst out in rage that personified his emotions and was about to engulf the entire field until–

"Stop it, Natsu!" Sayla shouted in worry as she noticed his killing intent which was completely unusual for him.

Fortunately, her voice reached him. His power receded back to normal as the horns around his head slowly disappeared while his expression immediately changed as soon as she called out to him.

For a moment, Gray and the others thought about taking the opportunity if not for the demon girl's plea to calm the pinkette down. They were taken by surprise at her caring nature towards him as Natsu settled down his emotions as if they were immediately flushed out from his system.

"There's still your friends... So please, stop." She pleaded.

"..." Natsu fell silent but immediately complied in the process before calming down, abruptly ending the growing hostility between him and his friends.

"Sorry..." Came the soft apology that everyone heard from him for the first time in a year.

At that moment, Sayla turned over to Laxus and simply pointed her hand towards him. He felt a sudden click of movement from his body but not long before he realized his body returning from what it was before.

"Wha–"

"I removed the magic barrier particles from your body. Would this suffice for our escape from here? I wished only for the safety of my Master, nothing more. I hope you would understand as his friends. We don't mean no harm to anyone else here." Sayla begged which stopped the others from speaking, except for a few.

"Do you think we're gonna believe that?! Give us back, Salamander!"

"No, wait Gajeel!" Erza tried to push him back but Natsu made a split decision as he used his surroundings and engulfed themselves in a fiery hellfire that rises above the skies. Lucy and the rest backed away from the fire until it receded and revealed an empty ground.

"What the?"

"Where did they go?" Juvia looked around but saw nothing.

"They're gone... I can't smell their scent anymore in this area." Gajeel clicked his tongue in irritation, leaving them empty-handed as they failed to bring the pinkette back. Their encounter with them simply left them with more questions regarding him.

"Just what are you thinking, Gajeel?! We nearly had the opportunity to let him tell everything and you blew it." Erza shouted in anger.

"Salamander is way too dangerous and too late to bring back. He won't tell anything to us in the first place."

"Don't say it like that! Are you seriously thinking that it's too late to save him?"

"I'm not exactly attached to that idiot. Not even I can tell if that demon girl is responsible for his change given how she acted towards us and cured Laxus' sickness. And don't forget, they killed countless dark mages over the past few months." Gajeel retorted.

"Then what are you going to do? Treat him like a criminal?" Erza asked in anger.

"If that's what it takes to get him to spill the beans, then I'll do it."

"Natsu isn't a criminal, Gajeel." Erza gave an intimidating glare at the iron dragonslayer. Gajeel seemed to have resisted her nature and returned with the same expression.

"Cut it out, guys!" Lucy and Levy tried to break away the two. Erza and Gajeel could've involved with more argument against each other if not for Wendy crying from the background after witnessing their heated and aggressive attitude towards each other.

She can't handle herself about Natsu breaking apart from them but seeing the others breaking apart greatly pains her to the point that she can't even begin to see them all coming back together.

"S-Stop it, everyone! P-Please..."

Her sobs simply stopped them and could only look down in shame. Laxus was silent at the corner along with Gray. Juvia comforted the sky dragonslayer while Lucy and Levy shook their heads at their current situation.

How did it come to this?

They just realized how Natsu's relationship connects them both together. With him gone and not part of Fairy Tail, everything seemed to be going downhill for them. This is the first time they both argued with each other for real.

They didn't like it but they all knew that it was pointless to fight against each other at this moment now that Natsu grows more distant from them.

Erza simply clenched her fists tightly and looked at the sky in distraught.

 _"Why...? Why did it come to this? Natsu...'_

 _._

 _._

* * *

 ** _A few hours later..._**

Natsu and Sayla managed to escape from the group as the former used a distraction for the latter to initiate her powers to teleport them far away. They landed in a forest where no animals can be seen except for the lush green trees surrounding them.

It was dead silent as if they stumbled into a quiet world.

The pinkette silently walked ahead as soon as he got back up. Sayla followed him from behind, wanting to say something until he spoke.

"Don't feel sorry. It was my fault. If I had known that they would come together, then I shouldn't have said those words back then." Natsu sighed for a moment and decided to take a moment to think things through. He knew what she was about to say so he wanted to wash away her worries.

"Natsu... I–" Her mouth closed shut for the lack of words she can't convey to him.

What she witnessed was nothing but arguments and ill conversations between him and his friends. Natsu was a good and caring person, especially to his friends. Although it may not look like from what he's acting right now, he still cares for them.

He just doesn't want them to be involved but the persistence of his friends was beyond his control. And it ended more heated discussions and left a bitter taste in his mouth after saying those words.

Not to mention, his accidental temper of tapping into his Etherious Form without knowing. She was able to calm him but the expressions of his friends that saw his demonic form forever changed. It's impossible to deny it. They saw his true nature as one of the Etherious – the ones who desire the destruction of mankind...

Her face showed mixed feelings as her eyes stared at the lone figure before her.

"We should go... What I did is something I held responsible for." His voice laced with emptiness as he trudged further down on the road to continue their journey.

"Natsu..." Sayla uttered his name in concern.

Her feet kicked up in an instant before her senses could react first. In a short while, she embraced the pinkette from behind.

"S-Sayla?" Natsu stuttered in surprise at the sudden move. His walk was halted but he felt a small desire stay like that. The empty feeling on his heart was replaced with his surprise towards her actions.

"I'm sorry but... I would like to stay like this for a moment." Her voice softened as if her uneasiness was never there in the first place. The stunned look on his face vanished after understanding what she wanted to do.

"..." Only his exhaled breath was replied to her plea as Natsu stood there while letting her embrace him from behind. His rattling emotions were immediately fixed before feeling a sense of tranquil as soon as he stayed in her arms.

The silence of the environment aided the peaceful yet silent interaction with each other.

Whenever he felt unstable, Sayla was there beside him, giving him a sense of comfort whenever he felt troubled with his thoughts or emotions. He never found it bothersome because of their new relationship.

Sayla had no bounds within the bond of his friends. In fact, she was never part of that circle. She had no right to say such things to defend him from questioning his secret. And because of that, the only thing she could do is to comfort him and give him enough strength to endure all of it.

"Feeling alright?" Her voice lightened the silence.

"Nn... This is fine." With a light nod, Natsu showed a calm smile once again. The troubling thoughts disappeared for a moment due to their time together.

"Natsu... I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault... There's no need for you to say sorry." It would seem like he finally regained his composure, relieving her in the process.

"What are you going to do now? Zeref is..."

"There's no more clue of where he's been right now. Avatar was our only last chance to lead us to him." He frowned a bit. A few months of destroying dark guilds and asking questions about the Black Mage whereabouts were all for nothing.

After all, they are nothing but cultists and worshippers that serve Zeref as their god and ruler. In truth, they thought those people to be nothing of value in the eyes of the Black Mage. Natsu could still remember his first encounter with him.

He remembered his words about the upcoming final battle which will both involve him and Acnologia as well. There's no time for him to be sitting around dealing with disposable worshippers.

That assumption made Natsu narrow his eyes as a result.

If Zeref warns him about the final battle, there's no doubt that he will join in as well. Sitting around and doing nothing will not benefit his preparation. He must be up to something – something that would help him to fight against him and Acnologia.

His deep thinking soon catches Sayla's attention.

"What is it?"

"We should go... Zeref will not be sitting around and wait for us to find him. He's beginning for a preparation."

"Preparation for what?" Sayla seemed confused about where he's getting at. Her headed tilted a bit at his words.

"For war."

For a moment, she let out a stuttering reply because of such an outrageous reason. Her face showed mixed expressions of confusion and surprise.

"E-Eh?" She blinked her eyes as her words were spoken.

"I haven't told you yet, didn't I? We'll talk more on the way. For now, we need to go." Natsu urged as he prepared to set off along with her.

"To where?"

"To the Magic Council."

.

.

* * *

 ** _A few days later… At Magnolia…_**

Lucy and Wendy walked back to their hometown along with Happy and Carla in dispirited faces. It's been a few days since their brief encounter with Natsu. Their minds are still yet to accept reality as if they wanted it to be some kind of dream.

His words that contained nothing but coldness and hostility against his friends was not something they would expect from him.

I mean, he's Natsu... How would he come to hate them in the first place?

They couldn't find the answer to that question. What's more, is that he now sides along with Tartaros. The dark guild they all thought to be defeated a year ago. They cannot make such judgment whether it was them who changed him.

Whatever it is, Natsu is no longer the same anymore. It would be even close to impossible to bring him back, given how he acted on their last minutes of conversations which didn't end well for both sides.

Gajeel and Levy went back to the Council while Erza and Gray departed for Sabertooth for some matters. Laxus left the group without a word and never showed up later on. Juvia wanted to go along with Gray but the gloomy faces of her friends prevented her from coming along. Instead, she silently tagged along with the two girls back at Magnolia.

Looking at it, Lucy and Wendy thought that they could never bring back Fairy Tail the way it is. Everyone has become used to the life they're currently in.

Who would bother to go back to the guild where its Master disappeared without a trace?

Little by little, their thoughts began to see the reformation of their guild as something of a delusion.

"Wendy? What's wrong?" Lucy asked as she saw the blue-haired girl stop in her tracks and looked down on her feet with a dejected look.

"A-Ah, it's nothing, Lucy-san. It's just... this place brings back so many memories." Her words transmitted to the air as the blonde mage looked at her in mild surprise before looking back at the peaceful town.

A sense of nostalgia begins to wrap her thoughts as she took a brief moment of observing the town. A lot of memories were resurfaced right back when they all both joined in Fairy Tail. No, rather because of one person.

There was a mix of happiness and sadness in between their expressions. Happy by far is the most affected of them all. He had been on the dragonslayer's company ever since he was born. He was his closest companion and lovable foster parent because of the times they went through as buddies.

"You're right... It really takes us back. It was in ruins before we departed to our separate ways." Lucy smiled though she knew it wouldn't help them from alleviating from their gloomy feelings.

"This town is really tough, you know... Even after that, they're still..." Juvia remarked jokingly which both got the two giggling a bit.

"Yeah..."

An unpleasant silence assailed their atmosphere in an instant as they both stopped their conversation there and simply looked at the distance with uncertainty. It was only stopped when Wendy began to ask something.

"Will be able to see him again?"

Normally, the blue-haired girl would address him as Natsu-san but for some reason, she never calls him like that anymore. Lucy and the others could only wear such downhearted faces as they cannot answer directly to her question.

"Wendy, I..." Lucy stopped her sentence as she tried to confront her with determination but the reality of Natsu's rejection towards them made it hard for her to utter her words. It was clear that his actions harbor unfriendliness towards them.

Saying something like, "He will come back." will serve nothing but to slow down the phantom pain inside their hearts.

"I won't give up!" A straightened voice opposite to their downcasted faces resounded from behind as Happy made his decision towards his dragonslayer.

"No matter how many times he would push us away, I will keep going. Not until he comes back here with us. He is my partner! I won't just give up on him like that. My mind still hasn't changed so I will promise to keep trying until he gives up and come back with us."

"Happy..."

"You guys sure are persistent..."

Out from the corner, a voice joined as soon as it heard the Exceed's words.

"Gajeel? And Levy too?" The group looked at the newcomers as they approached the group.

"Since when did you two come back to Magnolia?" Juvia asked in confusion.

"Just recently... After all, we have a lot of file reports regarding the aftermath of our fight with Avatar." Levy answered with a cheery smile.

"What about your job? I thought you two were still going to work for the Council?" Wendy asked.

"We never said about staying forever in that place. I was beginning to think that it's not suited for me at all. I just came out of consideration for that old woman." Gajeel gave an irritated snort as he looks away until he got a light nudge from the girl beside him.

Levy gestured a nod to him as if she wanted him to say more about them.

"And... so, umm... Sorry about what happened." Gajeel apologized to which got the group confused.

"For what?"

"I didn't mean those things about Salamander back then. There were just a lot of things I didn't think through and went spouting some nonsense as a result."

The group eventually realized what he's trying to say and could only form a smile towards him.

"It's okay... I know you were just trying to help him."

"In a bad way it seems." Levy corrected. Gajeel could only stay silent in shame from what he had done. Their thoughts went to a brief pause until Juvia began to ask a different topic.

"So what are you guys doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious? We're returning back to Fairy Tail."

"Huh?" Came the puzzled looks over the girls before another voice entered the atmosphere.

"You think we've moved on with our lives, aren't you? Fairy Tail will be always my home. It's the only place where I can have fun with my friends and comrades altogether." A flow of scarlet graced from behind as Erza and Gray arrived as well.

"Erza-san?!"

"Gray-sama!" Juvia instantly went into heart mode after seeing the ice mage.

"You said it yourself, didn't you? We're all going back together. If by together, I also mean him as well." Erza smiled.

"I heard of what's happened... Honestly, If I see that idiot again, I swear I'm gonna punch him for being such a jerk to you, Lucy." Another visitor came as the others looked back and saw Cana on view.

Disregarding her usual drunken stupor that never changed after all these months, everyone only widened their eyes in shock.

"Cana?"

"This past year had not been that much good for me too. I thought for awhile of searching Gildarts but he seems to be quite the nomadic one. Even so, I cannot forget everyone back at Fairy Tail. You are the one who's been keeping in touch with us when we're not doing it. Working outside the guild is quite a good experience but this..." A small letter was seen on her hand as she grinned widely towards the Celestial Mage.

"Your letter reminds me much of my time here in Fairy Tail. I'm sure everyone would be able to receive it too. It's quite unfortunate that we might not get Natsu back just yet but this time around, we'll reforming our guild for his sake. And after that, we drag him as many times as we can until he gives up." Cana smiled.

Her speech lightens the mood and the expression of the others as they stood in satisfaction of their reunion as a team once again. Sadness and depression disappeared from their hearts as the conversation of their friends were in harmony.

Taking her hand by surprise, Cana led Lucy to the place where they once called home. Others followed suit as their eyes finally gazed over to the multitude of people waiting for them at that place.

With a small flashing of light before her eyes, Lucy fell into surprise as her once former guildmates finally returned. All of them held each letter similar to Cana's as they looked at the Celestial mage in smiles.

"Welcome back!"

"It's been a long time, Lucy, Wendy."

"We've got your letter, Lucy!"

"How've you been, Erza?"

The voices of their friends greeted them as they returned back to Magnolia. Every single one of them returned and also changed in so many ways within a year. Though only one thing never changed to all of them – their love for the guild.

They never forgot about Fairy Tail despite moving on over the past year. They all held their memories and feelings in the place they all treasured. An invisible bond that ties them both together to the guild.

Lucy could only let out her tears as she mentions every name of her guildmates that returned with the letter she sent to them a year ago.

"See? You're the one that kept us all together. We're all back together now." Cana reached a reassuring pat on her shoulder.

It didn't take long for her to finally burst in tears as the others welcomed them back. Cheers and happiness filled the atmosphere and everyone was just joyful to see everyone back for a year. People hugged their nearest companion and talked a lot of things about their experience a year back.

It is as if their situation with Natsu was never true at all. The joyous cheer of their guildmates overwhelmed that feeling except for a few.

"What's wrong, Gray-sama?" Juvia looked in confusion at the ice mage who suddenly narrowed his eyes on open space.

Her voice did not reach to his mixed thoughts as if he completely blocked everything except for one thought that he focused on.

The appearance of the fire dragonslayer engraved into his mind along with his words that are concerned about his father's wish. Of course, he would be confused to think about it since Natsu never once knew what his old man wished for him to do in the future.

Although it may seem to be a guess but... it seems like Natsu somehow knows about END. The one thought was enough to discard the joy in his heart and the vibrant atmosphere surrounding him.

"Gray-sama?"

This time, Juvia sounded a bit more worried as Gray unintentionally injured his hand for clenching it so tight. His mind snapped back to reality at the same time and looked at Juvia with mixed feelings.

"I-It's nothing... I was just thinking of something. Don't worry." He hid his bleeding hand and walked towards the group celebrate but it didn't relieve the water mage's worry towards him.

.

.

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile at Era…_**

Papers were stacked like mountains beside Warrod's table as the reports of the numerous branch dark guilds surrendered after Avatar's fall. Hyberion and the other new Council members were relieved of such good news since it would finally lessen the problem for them in Fiore.

The only thing that will be a matter of discussion is the sudden movement of the Western Continent towards Ishgar.

"Thank you for your help." He bids a good farewell on one of the councilmen after being handed out another pile of papers for a signing agreement to some other trivial matters inside the country.

The tree mage took out the recent paper and could only smile inwardly at the mention of reformation about Fairy Tail.

"So they finally came back... Mavis, the time has come for your guild to continue their journey." He mumbled in a wistful smile as he begins to sign for approval along with the Chairman as well.

At the same time, his door open in a loud creek as a short man in glasses appeared in his room.

"You seemed to be in high spirits, Warrod." Came the first greeting as Warrod responded with a cheery attitude.

"Why of course, Wolfheim. News of Avatar finally defeated and the reformation of one of the strongest guild in Fiore brings a good change on Fiore once in a while."

"Heh, there's still a lot to do... Alvarez began its move again. Their emperor has just recently returned from his journey. Do you know what this means, Warrod?" Wolfheim responded in a serious tone.

"We can only trust on our negotiator for this objective. It's been a year since he went to Aracitacia on the Western continent."

"I doubt nothing would come out to that plan of yours Warrod. But I guess, it's the only thing we can do to solve the matter peacefully."

"I suppose your right. This is for the benefit and safety of our wizards in Ishgar. The surrounding nations also cooperated in the alliance because they felt the same threat."

"It can't be helped. Bosco will be making an allegiance to Fiore as well as the rest but it won't be enough. I was hoping for not resorting to this decision but the chances of a war breaking out are not slim so we can't take any chances even if the negotiations were to be a success." Wolfheim explained.

A brief silence reigned in the room until Wolfheim walked back on the door to leave.

"I'll be heading back... The rumors of Tartaros hasn't receded yet, Warrod. We can't say for sure of their true intentions. I don't want a dark guild backstabbing us in the middle of a war."

And after that, he closed the door behind him, leaving Warrod alone once more and looked in wonder.

He faintly sighed from his table and was about to continue doing his paperwork until-

"!?" His senses kicked up alarm as he felt a disturbing power emanating from the room. The brightness of the room dimmed as if the curtains were slid shut from the windows.

He could see the bright sun from the outside but the room itself had an unnatural lit of brightness inside as he began to feel dread all over his body as time passes.

Moments later, he noticed a cloaked figure from one of the corner of the room which seemed to be the culprit behind the terrifying phenomenon. His hands stayed on guard as he looked at the mysterious figure in anticipation.

It didn't take long as the figure slowly approached itself into the light and unveiled his hood to show his identity to him. A small sign of relief came over to Warrod's face despite the opposing pressure he felt from him.

"It's been awhile, old man Warrod." Natsu greeted with a calm tone.

"You are that one I requested back at the Sun Village. If could remember correctly, you are Gray Fullbuster."

A light chuckle echoed on the now dead silent room as Natsu felt amused at his actions.

"Your carefree attitude always gives a rather bad vibe for me..."

"I'm just joking. If my memory serves me right, you are Natsu Dragneel." Warrod corrected with a good humor.

"..." The man in question stood in silence as he faced the founder of Fairy Tail in a suspense manner.

"So what have you come here for, young one?"

"I've come to ask about Zeref."

His sentence threw the tree mage slightly off from his composure as he looked at the pinkette in disbelief at such a mention of a name.

"W-Why would you want to ask about him?" He asked out of curiosity.

"It's none of your business... All I want is to find information that could lead me to Zeref. Avatar has no leads regarding him so I went here as the last resort." Natsu explained monotonously as he shifted his eyes away for a moment and towards another figure who lies in the darkness.

"I see... So you're the one who destroyed Avatar and its guild branches." Warrod realized. Natsu remained unfazed at the information about him and simply focused on the matter at hand.

"Do you have any information on him?"

Warrod took a moment to ponder inside his thoughts as he tried to give him an appropriate answer. Judging from his approach on him, it would seem like he only revealed his presence to this part of the room without having anyone to notice it from the outside.

His level of magic is beyond reason and it would be pointless to resist him though his reasons for coming here were not meant for that.

"I'm afraid I don't have any information about his whereabouts. Even before the previous Council, there was no record of any place where he could be hiding at the moment."

"I see... I expected much. I guess I came here for nothing as well." Natsu released a tired sigh and receded his power around the room. The light of the room returned to normal as Warrod could feel nothing from the pinkette.

At the same time, another figure revealed itself from the windows as she stood there waiting for the other in silence.

"Thank you for your cooperation. I was hoping to gather more information about him but it seems like there's nothing for me to do now." Natsu gave a polite bow and turned around to approach the other figure until–

"Wait a moment." Warrod's voice called him back.

"What?"

"That guild mark on your right arm... Are you with Tartaros?" Warrod asked in curiosity. There was no hint of enmity in his words despite the fact that he once knew the boy to be part of Fairy Tail.

"I'm surprised that you're composed as such. Normally, the council would be hunting for me if I reveal myself." Natsu chuckled a bit.

"I just wanted to ask you, Natsu Dragneel."

"..."

"Are you an ally to Ishgar?"

"I'm neither an ally nor an enemy. That I can assure you."

"Then will you listen to my plea as one of the founders of Fairy Tail?" He asked in a solemn tone. The fire dragonslayer looked at him in anticipation as he slowly listens to his request.

"Will you please save Makarov from the Alvarez Empire?"

At the mention of his former master, Natsu simply drew a shocked expression.

* * *

 **A/N: And there you have it. The plot bridge to Alvarez Arc now begins. This is quite an unexpected twist now. Natsu will be requested to save Makarov from Aracitacia. I'm sure his encounter with Fairy Tail again is not that far as well. Also, I will do a bit of a change in writing style to give in more descriptive sentences and structures to convey the situation much more rather than going to straightforward sentences to move the plot.**

 **So again, this would be the end of one arc and we'll be heading for the anticipated war between Ishgar and Alvarez. A lot of revelations and twists will be revealed in the later chapters and also more questions about Natsu and Sayla's future.**

 **Thanks for reading and I'll see you guys on the next chapter.**

 **\- wiErD SpeCtrumz blacking out… … …**


	17. Alvarez Empire

**A/N: Sup guys, wiErD here and I've got another chapter for you all.**

 **We're now heading to the prelude of Alvarez Arc. Let's see how it goes from here.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for my plots. Everything else is owned by Hiro Mashima. Support the official release.**

* * *

 **\- Alvarez Empire –**

"Makarov..."

Natsu answered in an undertone as the name of his former guild master was brought up to the subject. His face adopted a pondering expression and his eyes were gazing into open space. Nostalgia and old memories resurfaced in his mind as he uttered his name in wonder. After all, Makarov was the first person who helped him during his time when he was still a child. He's the reason why he was in Fairy Tail and accepted him as one of his own. He could say that he was one of the people that turned his life around that time.

However, in his current self, it deprived him of delving any further from his past memories and simply looked at Warrod with questioning gaze. He immediately cut his emotions and focused on the topic at hand and instead, replied with a cold voice.

"What about him?"

Warrod showed no signs of shock from his eyes. He knew too well that Natsu's a changed person but he also noticed that he does not inhibit any malice behind his actions. He was an understanding person and it is not in his place to intervene or criticize him for taking down such a path although a small part of him wanting to know what happened still lingers.

He cleared up his throat before answering attentively to him. His humored personality disappeared and replaced with a grim look.

"As you can see, he's been missing for a year now. The reason was because he went to Alvarez to negotiate with them. I believe it's also the reason why he disbanded Fairy Tail in the first place."

"Negotiate? What for?"

Another grim look was shown. Warrod only closed his eyes at the question as his head shook in uneasiness. He appears to be hesitant as if he was hiding something. At first, Sayla was on guard towards him due to his reluctance to answer his question just now. Natsu also noticed this but decided to wait for a bit to let him speak. Silence wrapped around the room until he spoke again.

"Lumen Histoire..."

The unfamiliar word was uttered. Natsu and Sayla drew their heads in a tilted angle as they looked at him in confusion. Warrod simply nodded in confirmation before his eyes turned towards them with a serious gaze. It's a normal reaction for someone like them as the word and its secret was kept hidden from anyone else.

"That's right... Lumen Histoire. Fairy Tail's biggest secret. It is by far the most guarded secret of the guild ever since going back to its early days."

"Lumen Histoire? I've never heard of something like that."

"Like I said, it's the most guarded secret. No one except the guild masters of Fairy Tail knows about this. Normally under circumstances, I wouldn't have shared it with you since you're already not part of Fairy Tail. Though looking at our current situation, there's no need for that now. Not even the Magic Council itself knows about this. That's why our conversation must only remain in this room."

His words brought a heavy feeling along with his serious face that added a tense atmosphere around them. Natsu nodded, seemingly convinced to hear him out and lowered his guard alongside with Sayla who merely went beside him to listen.

"So what's this about Lumen Histoire? If it was so important to the guild, why would Gramps disband it knowing that it would get exposed?" He inquired.

"It was kept secretly. Makarov did send someone to safeguard it while he was gone."

"I see..." Natsu lowered his head a bit upon realizing it. "So what does Lumen Histoire have anything to do with Gramps negotiating at Alvarez?"

"So you're willing to cooperate at least."

Warrod broke into a relieved smile but Natsu cut him off.

"Don't mistake me... I'm not doing this because I once have my connection with Fairy Tail. I'm just paying my obligations to Gramps. Nothing more."

He corrected, taking Warrod by surprise but immediately recomposed himself afterward. The words that were boldly spoken without any hesitation is what surprised him, not his reason of heeding to his request. Sayla, on the other hand, stared at him with slight worry.

"Is that so? I guess I'll leave it at that."

He contented a sigh before starting his discussion about the situation.

"As I was saying, Lumen Histoire is kept in secret and because of that, only a handful know about it. That includes me and the other founders of Fairy Tail that time. The information has been passed only to the guild masters and eventually Makarov soon became knowledgeable about it as soon as he was appointed the next guild master..."

"What is Lumen Histoire exactly? Is it a treasure of some sort?"

Warrod shook his head sideways at his assumption. He lifted his head once again and faced them with a grim look.

"Unfortunately no... Lumen Histoire is a weapon."

A form of surprised looks went over to the two, especially Natsu who immediately asked in response to the revelation of the Lumen Histoire's nature. He couldn't contain his stuttered expression due to the fact that his former guild kept a hidden weapon unknown to everyone except Gramps. It raised both curiosity and uncertainty from his mind because he can't believe that Gramps kept such a secret from them for a long time and that his guild might be hiding something all this time. Even Sayla had the same feeling of uneasiness of the term used towards Lumen Histoire.

"A-A weapon, you say?" She stammered.

"... That's right. A weapon so powerful that it had the potential to shake the very foundations of the magic world. The Western Continent, Alvarez, wanted to obtain Lumen Histoire for that reason. I don't know how the information was leaked but they somehow managed to get wind of it after all this time."

"... Alvarez tried to obtain it once but they were stopped ten years ago." He muttered absent-mindedly which caught their attention once again.

"Stopped?"

"That's right. Because the Council at that time possessed Etherion. A weapon that can wipe out a country regardless of any place. They also had the Face project as a backup plan in case Etherion was unable to stop the advance. But with the recent events regarding Tartaros attacks on the Council, both those two weapons were eliminated. Tartaros inadvertently disabled the only defenses Ishgar had against Alvarez..."

"... Makarov noticed this and forced a decision to go to Alvarez to negotiate. To buy us some time to reform the Council back on its feet. I was asked by one of his guild members and did as I was told but that doesn't erase the fact of the problem regarding Alvarez. We haven't heard of Makarov for a year and we may fear that something must've happened."

Warrod didn't want to think further to that. As grave as it is, he wanted to hope that Makarov would be at least safe for now since the Alvarez Empire hasn't made their moves yet against them. It's a sign that he was stalling their decision to attack all this time but that reassurance cannot remain true forever. A possibility of a sudden invasion might pop up anytime. Even he and the other council members were restless about it.

"Are you saying that the Alvarez Empire plans on invading the continent once again?" Sayla answered in worry. It only grew further as Warrod made a hesitant nod towards her assumption that left her rattled in shock.

"N-No way..."

The demon girl could only collapse to her knees as the information was revealed to them. Natsu looked at her with concern after learning the consequence of her past actions. He knew that Tartaros had no idea about the repercussions of disabling Etherion and taking control of Face until now so it's natural for her to feel really shocked in the process. He rushed to her collapsed figure and comforted her as best as he can.

Warrod frowned at the background as his eyes stared onto the girl in sympathy.

"I understand your feelings of regret but I don't blame you for what's happened. You two seemed very different and do not inhibit any evil intent. This is Fairy Tail's problem, to begin with. If the information was kept inside, then this wouldn't have happened."

Warrod tried to reassure them but it didn't budge to any of them. Unexpectedly, Sayla broke into tears in his embrace. Natsu offered his comfort and let her shed her tears because he understands her feelings. She caused this problem towards them. No matter how much she changed, it doesn't deny the fact that her actions brought an impending conflict between Ishgar and Alvarez. Natsu could only grit his teeth in frustration for not being able to do anything.

And then... he finally decided.

"Old man... Is there a way to get to Alvarez in an early time?"

At first, Warrod was stunned at his sudden response. His mind eventually caught up along with his composure and answered immediately.

"Well, a transportation located north of Fiore would be the passage directly to Aracitacia. However, the trip would eventually take a break or two due to its distance away from Ishgar."

"I see... Then you're certain that Gramps is still in that country."

"I'm afraid so..."

"Then, there's nothing more to be said. We'll head over there and bring him back as you requested. It was I who stirred this mess to you so the responsibility belongs to me alone as the guild master of Tartaros."

Warrod felt his eyes blink at the words he uttered just now.

"Guild master? Tartaros?"

However, just as he was about to ask, Natsu turned his gaze over to Sayla with a reassuring smile. Her tears stopped upon meeting his gaze. He pulled her hand and let her stand up before looking back at Warrod for the last time.

"Old man Warrod... Can I ask you something?" His face contorted in a serious expression, prompting him to respond with the same manner after seeing his cold gaze towards him.

"... If a war broke out, do you think Ishgar will survive?"

A final question was laid onto him. Warrod isn't sure of himself due to his thinking that peace would be the best solution for both countries. Natsu knew that a possibility like that isn't going to happen anytime soon. Even though he has little knowledge about the tension between Ishgar and Alvarez, his mind can predict that war is evident to happen. He knew this as well from the start that's why he requested him on a dangerous mission to rescue Makarov before it's too late.

"..."

His uncertainty didn't go unnoticed as Natsu slightly shook his head as if he found his answer.

"I see... At the very least, I won't let them take away my home."

With a satisfied answer, he and Sayla jumped away from the window and vanished in mid-air. The tense atmosphere fleeted together upon their departure as Warrod held his breath for a moment and eventually felt at ease. There's still a lot of things he wanted to ask behind his words earlier but his acceptance of his request was enough for him to take a load of worries his from his chest.

Silence assailed in the room as a small breeze went inside and blew the curtains in a slow manner, accompanying his hopeful expression that gazes towards the ceiling in wonder. Warrod could only whisper to the two's safe journey towards Alvarez. There's no telling what they would encounter while also dealing with the rescue of Makarov in the process.

And with that, the second party to save Makarov is now set in place.

* * *

A week has passed and the news about Makarov being missing for a year has bothered Natsu way more than he expected it to be due to the overflowing questions that he had in mind at the moment. First was the kind of weapon Lumen Histoire is. Although, he did hear enough from Warrod. There are still a lot of things he wanted to confirm behind that biggest secret. What's more is that Warrod mentioned its potential to shake the foundations of the magic world as they know it.

Meaning that the weapon contains such power that it would revolutionize the current understanding of magic. For him to say such a thing is quite ominous. If it's too much powerful, it'll be understandable that Makarov kept its secrets from them, however–

With things going worse as they are, it would be a matter of time before Alvarez could resume their invasion and thus, plunging the entire continent into a state of war. Lives will be lost and destruction will spread all over the livelihood of the people.

Natsu didn't want that. No matter how much he wanted to avoid himself, the threat against his home is as the same as everyone else, including Sayla.

Both of them reached the port where Warrod told them as they managed to get themselves a small ship consisted only for the two of them. Despite its size, it was enough to carry for about a hundred passengers but the two only used it for themselves in order to avoid any people from getting involved any further.

Sayla worked on her task to keep the ship sail on its designated course but... her other companion is not actually doing well in the process as her eyes shifted over to the dragonslayer who leaned on one of the poles supporting the sails with a strained look.

His body was shaking with his arms crossed in his chest. Sayla could notice that he was somewhat struggling from the inside. Normally, she would see his unaltered expression whenever he faces his enemies and problems most of the time. But to see him actually feeling weak for some reason immediately erased that thought. It would seem like Natsu still, has his own weakness.

Pretending to not know what's going on, she asked curiously.

"What's wrong, Natsu?"

It took a few more seconds for him to notice her question as he rigidly glanced his head like a robot with a poor expression.

"I-I-It's nothing... I-I-I just f-feel a little b-bit of sick. That's all."

To prove his words, Natsu tried even moving around and sat on a nearby wooden bench on the side of the ship but Sayla could already see through his inner struggle and couldn't hold her laughter.

"Hoh? So even the great Natsu Dragneel could have such a weakness... Fufu, this is really bad."

She made a bewitching smile that sends a chill over his body. The combination of his motion sickness and the chill puts him a really tight spot. He knew all too well that Sayla could be cunning at times. If he meant by that, he would mean that she has her teasing habit of messing with him whenever she found him vulnerable to certain things such as this one.

Natsu inwardly cursed his motion sickness as a result. To add more to his troubles, Sayla walked over to him with the same smile and sat beside him. She stayed there silently for a moment until she placed her hand over to the back of his head and lowered him down to her lap. His body changed its position and rested comfortably on her lap.

"Here, it's way better for you to handle it if you rest like this."

Her smile turned gentle as soon as she uttered those words. Natsu immediately lost his sickness for some reason and found his body slowly calming down. His eyes gazed longingly at hers as if he was in a daze. He was literally vulnerable but Sayla only broke into a soft smile as her cheeks slightly painted red for some reason which also happens to be the same as him.

An awkward silence wrapped around the two as the sounds of the crashing waves echoed from the ship's hull, devoid of any human chatters and other noises. The wind brushed past her hair as it made a graceful dance. Natsu was mesmerized by her beauty. A demon like her that possessed such a unique trait would be enough for any men to fall for her. Natsu understood that but he almost forgets the fact that she is not just any kind of girl that every man dreamed of.

A beauty that hides a dangerous nature. Like a rose full of thorns. If he could describe her, it would be something like that. He could only wonder just how lucky or unlucky he is to be the one falling in love with her. Natsu was beginning to lose his mind just by thinking about it. The feeling of wanting her so bad was strong and it seems like she also felt the same. However, the lingering feeling of nausea somehow helps him to bear with it.

"Natsu..."

Her voice was filled with a sense of yearning. The pinkette didn't speak or offered any moves as he noticed her face slowly leans closer to his.

However, her face contorted a pained expression just as she neared his face. The distance of their lips grew further as she hesitantly drew her face back, causing him to worry.

"What's wrong?"

"Natsu... About what happened back at the Council..."

Of course, he realized it. Her voice sounded hurt and regretful and her mind was burdened with guilt as soon as she recalled the conversation between them and Warrod. The thought of her past actions that resulted in this problem clouded her mind.

"This... problem we're facing. It's because of me again, isn't it?"

"..."

The dragonslayer frowned in silence after hearing her regretful voice. Sayla is not a strong person when it comes in terms of her mind. She can be easily filled with guilt whenever her past actions were brought up. Even with him right by his side, she was having trouble coming to terms with it.

Although he assured her to move on, she was still vulnerable at heart. And now, with the information about her previous guild unintentionally inviting a war over to them makes her even more doubtful to question her existence to live peacefully with the humans. Natsu was aware of her feelings but he simply smiled afterward and looked at her with resolution.

"Sayla... You know I hate it when you make a face like that. Didn't you forget already? Your problem is my problem. No matter how many mistakes you made, I'll share my responsibility with it. It can't always be you to shoulder all that guilt."

"Natsu..."

"I can't deny the fact that this problem is caused by you. But I'm your Master, I stirred this problem onto myself as well. It's my fault for not realizing it sooner, you know. We're in this together and I won't just let you take the burden onto yourself alone."

"But–"

"No buts... What I said will be final and that's it. I don't care what everyone thinks. You're still you and I won't stop until I find a place where you wouldn't have to fear everything else. I promise you that before, didn't I?"

..

 _"Will you stay by my side from now on?"_

 _.._

He placed his hand over to her cheek. Sayla felt at ease from his warm touch. It's been awhile since she felt like this. Her doubts and uncertainties were fading away as he remembered his promise with her. He always reminded the present her that is sitting beside him. Her past has nothing to do with her anymore because she was already been accepted by him.

Natsu wanted nothing but her alone. His moments with her is what important to him right now. His feelings made sure to that.

Moments later, she finally brightened up. She regained her confidence and felt determined to herself more than ever. Natsu was content and simply let his head rest on her lap along the rest of the journey. The sickness still hasn't gone away but her comfort was enough for him to lessen most of it. He was grateful for it.

Sayla faintly smiled as he dozed off to sleep peacefully. This is probably the first time she saw him sleep without having any problems to worry him. She knew that this peaceful moment between them will not last long. Once they finally reached Aracitacia, things will be different and they will have to face conflict once again.

Even Natsu knows the gravity of the situation. They will be facing an enemy unlike they haven't seen before.

She looked back again on the sleeping pinkette below her and smiled again. Her cheeks blushed upon seeing his gentle face. She wanted him more than anything in this world. She gently traced back her loose strands with her hand and slowly kissed him.

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile…_**

Erza and the others finally set sail towards Aracitacia. After the information, Mest has revealed to them back in the secret basement of the guild and the reason behind Makarov's disappearance, they couldn't stand by for any longer. Other mysterious questions have filled their minds like Lumen Histoire and the First's body encased inside it.

Explained to be some sort of a weapon, they still don't know anything beyond that. And now, the revelation of the Western Continent and their motives of obtaining Lumen Histoire puts them on a very tense atmosphere. Everyone could only worry for their Master due to the lengths and sacrifices he did just to protect them.

It was one drive of a parent to protect his children. They all know just how much he valued them and risked his life just to do that by himself. Stopping a country is ridiculous for one person but yet he insisted. It's the price that he wanted to pay for the sake of his precious children. He wanted nothing more of that.

The group consisted of the rest of Team Natsu in addition to Mest. Apparently, Erza was temporarily appointed as their guild master in order to fill in the position to fully rebuild their guild. And because of her position, the information of Lumen Histoire was shared to her though it didn't exactly go as planned due to the rest of her friends sneaking in as a result.

Normally, it would be considered a breach but with things right now, there's no need for that anymore. And the attempted infiltration to bring back Makarov has been made within the group. The secret must be kept only to them in order prevent others from worrying.

However, the issue about Natsu has already spread to the rest of the members. Of course, it didn't end well for the others who are yet to know the current situation. Shock and bewilderment formed around them as soon as the information of Natsu not being part of Fairy Tail were brought up. His allegiance to Tartaros, on the other hand, was merely kept in secret to those who encountered him in the past few weeks.

It is better for them to conceal that part for now due to the fact that they still don't know what happened to him a year ago. Despite his change, everyone still felt the same for him. They wanted him to go back to Fairy Tail and share their memories together like they always used to. Losing him completely will definitely change all of them in more ways than they would've thought out to be. After all, he's the main reason why they're all connected to each other. They knew Natsu still hasn't forgotten about them. For now, they would just have to focus on rescuing Master and find him later on.

"You seem to be in an awful lot of thought, Erza. Or should I be calling you Master now?"

Mest came around with a question as soon as he noticed the redhead staring intently at the sea in a deep thought.

"Erza is fine... Moreover, about Master's decision to keep us safe and protect our guild's biggest secret. I understand that much but as long as Lumen Histoire remains a mystery, I can't think that we're doing something meaningless." Erza bit her lip in worry.

"We'll never know once we find him. From what I've heard before, Master tried to use it once against Face. It's probably a weapon or some sort." Mest replied.

"We can't tell that much... What's bugging me is the First's body inside it. There are many questions left unanswered. Master can probably answer to those if we meet him."

Gray joined the group as the two looked at him in anticipation.

"I guess so... By the way, where's Lucy?" Erza asked.

"Inside the cabin with Happy and Carla. Wendy probably got a hold of motion sickness like Natsu does."

Unintentionally mentioning the name of their missing member, Gray immediately lowered his head in the process along with Erza. Mest was the only one who isn't that much affected but he understood the tense gloomy atmosphere around him due to Natsu being part of Fairy Tail once. Their faces contorted into a frowning expression as their thought went back to the pinkette once again.

"It's been awhile since we last saw him. All those things back then. We pretty had it rough and we can't help but feel responsible for pushing him away." Erza began to speak.

"Just what happened to him...? He's not the same as he is before. You saw it, didn't you?"

Gray looked at the scarlet knight in anticipation who hesitated to answer and simply shook her head in response.

"I... don't know. I-I don't understand."

Erza murmured in uncertainty which was very unusual due to the fact that she doesn't display such weak response. It was only one time when they're in the Tower of Heaven. After that, she became more determined and found her resolution. The reason behind her unnatural response was Natsu's transformation and the immense power he emanated within that form.

She immediately realized it herself that Natsu could potentially overpower them even if they were all against him. A power like that is nothing that she'd seen before. It scared her for the first time. Natsu was one of her best friend and comrades and to see him as their opponent completely rattles her from the inside. She still doesn't know what his intention was but the chances of him going against them are indeed very high. His hostility towards them is proof of that.

Even Gray felt it too but he kept silent the whole ordeal until it was finished. He was also in a deep thought when that happened. However, he didn't share anything regarding his knowledge about E.N.D. In a sense, Erza and Gray had different opinions about Natsu as of now. No one sure knows what would happen in the future once they face him again soon.

To break their tense atmosphere, Mest tried to change the topic.

"Do you think Natsu has caught wind of this?"

"I don't think so... Considering his detachment from us, he will not likely try to do it. And even if he knew, he might assume that we were the ones who will rescue him in the end." Erza pondered.

"That may be true but Natsu is still our comrade. I still think he will try to save Makarov if he ever got the information about Alvarez." Mest reasoned.

"We'll never know for sure. Right now, our only objective is to infiltrate and rescue Master with the best of our abilities." Gray added.

An immediate silence followed soon after.

"So how long are we going to reach Caracall?" It was then the scarlet knight changed their subject.

"About a day or so. It'll take more days to reach Alvarez, I think. We have our spy on that island who can provide us information to where Makarov is right now." Mest explained.

"I see..." A frown was showed on her face as her eyes drifted back to the open sea.

"I understand your impatience but we can't mess up right now. Time is not our side but the chances of our mission hitting the gutter would be high if we didn't take precautions first. Master is still out there somewhere and we need a perfect time in order to make this infiltration successful."

"Well, that just goes to say that we're no longer in Fiore's territory."

A familiar voice resounded from the entrance as the three looked back in surprise as Lucy made her appearance.

"Lucy!"

The blonde mage approached the three with the same expression. A momentary wave of smiles was seen from them as they saw her.

"How's Wendy?" Erza asked.

"She's asleep for now. Happy and Carla were taking care of her just so she would not feel sick while she's at it."

"I see... That's good."

"She was crying, you know," Lucy whispered but the rest could only feel shock and depression as soon as they heard her current situation.

"She's really been distraught ever since Natsu severed his connections with us. Even though we were supposed to be the ones who would bring him back, I can't even do a single thing about it. I'm not sure about Happy but... he's also a bit affected back then. We can never know for sure what would happen but if it continues like this, I–"

Lucy was trembling. Her eyes were teary but she wanted to be strong for Wendy and everyone but she realized that she's really helpless to do anything about it. Both Wendy and she along with Happy and Carla searched for so long for him but after what happened during their last encounter with him, their hearts can't take it anymore. Natsu was their precious comrade and friend. The thought of him of not being here with them is just too much for them to handle.

Without even realizing it, Lucy was embraced by Erza who simply showed the same feeling as her. She hugged her tight in order to stop her from continuing any further. This is not the first time she ever showed her vulnerable side to everyone. In truth, Erza is not a strong person, to begin with. She feared her nightmares, her mistakes and even herself. She was frightened at the fact that she might lose someone dear to her one day because of her.

The first thing happened when she was saved by Simon. Because of her weakness, she was unable to save him. Her fears dug deep into her heart that she feared that such a thing might happen again in the future.

She didn't want that. She didn't want to see it anymore. Because of that, seeing Natsu who adamantly refuses to return to them also affected her in more ways than one. She didn't know what to do at that time, except stand right there and watch him disappear right before her eyes. And that scared her the most.

She also shed her own tears beside her as Gray and Mest simply lowered their heads down in depression. There is nothing they can do in this situation as the former merely looked at the skies at him in wonder. Clouds fly overhead along with the wind as time goes by.

Although it was a mission to rescue one of their family, the atmosphere between them was unbearable.

* * *

 ** _Caracall Island…_**

The island is not as grand to the other huge islands located on the peninsula but it still holds as one of the tourist spots that is known to both Fiore and Alvarez. Its location stands between the two continents which result to its independence. The only things notable for the island itself are its resort for tourism and their famous Star Mango Gelato which is exclusive only to them. Not even Fiore and Alvarez had that kind of product.

The ship Natsu and Sayla boarded on neared its course but an unexpected sight caused them to narrow their eyes in suspicion. A small navy of ships was docked at the port. Their ships were unbelievably larger than their own. Aside from its military strength, a spare number of ships were standing by in open waters.

"Natsu... That's–"

"I know... Alvarez. I never thought they would be here so soon. And it seems like they were searching for a spy." Natsu explained as his ears listened the numerous conversation happening from the island. Of course, Sayla looked back in surprise at the information.

"A spy, you say?"

"Yeah... We can't land our ship near it. They'll be suspicious due to us being the only passengers here. We'll have to sink our own this time."

Natsu explained in which she nodded as they both stopped their ship and punched a hole in its hull before teleporting to the backside of the island. The ship was still far away from the eyes of the people back here in the island so it would be safe that they managed to infiltrate the island without any detection.

They landed on a pair of barrels located on the back of the small house and decided to conceal their horns for now. Their clothes are still a problem due to the fact they didn't usually stay around in such open areas like this one. Their methods are usually fleeing in the dark wherever possible if the situation was solved. They didn't have the time to stay around in the open in order to prevent them from being exposed. However, they lacked enough information about Makarov's whereabouts or Alvarez's strength so they needed an alternative way to walk through the island without being noticed.

Huts and small houses were seen around which doesn't suit for a jump-and-hide strategy. Natsu peered right from the corner and saw multiple civilians being lined up for checking. More soldiers patrol the area on high alert due to the information of a spy hiding in this part of the island.

"So what's the situation?" Sayla whispered.

"It seems like the spy they're looking for isn't found yet. I wonder just who it is and what are their motives?"

"To be able to catch the whole Empire's attention, the spy seemed to have an important information that they won't want to be leaked out."

"Well, if we can ever have the chance to meet this person, we'll need to remove all of their pursuers," Natsu suggested which leaves her in a deadpanned expression.

"In other words, take them all out, you say?"

"Hnn." A nod was shown which resulted a shrug look from the demon girl in return.

"And here I thought we're here for an infiltration. You really never do change, Natsu."

"What can I say? It's part of my habit of dealing with my enemies." He explained with a smile.

"Well, it's not like I'm against it. It's better to have them captured and let them spill the truth rather than sneaking around."

"I'll take care the ones at the port. You take care of the ones surrounding the island."

Confirming their plans, the two nodded silently with each other as Natsu peered again one last time as his eyes stared over to the line of people and soldiers located at the port. It's going to be a gamble on his part to let the innocent people run away while he deals with the rest of the soldiers and the navy sitting on the docks first. He can't let anyone is dragged into the fight so he'll have to swift. Sayla on the other hand simply prepared herself to deal with the others on the other parts of the island with her curse powers. A few minutes later and the two were ready. Their faces are now showing full determination as they observe the number of soldiers patrolling in the distance.

But just as Natsu was about to head-on straight to the port, Sayla quickly leaned her face close to his ears as if she wanted to whisper something.

"Don't be late~" With a bewitching smirk on her lips, she made a seductive voice, causing him to lose his concentration.

"W-Wha–?"

As he tried to look back, Sayla already made her move and jumped high to the roof to begin her move, leaving him with a chuckle that soon left him with a grin on his face.

"Alright... If that's how you want it. Then whoever gets to lose will have to yield to the winner, got it?"

Although his voice was sounded very late, a small grin was seen on her face as she disappeared from sight. Natsu watched for a moment before returning back to his previous objective and decided to do his part as well.

"Yosh... Time to get rid all of you, bastards!"

With a swift turn from his body, Natsu started off with a sprint towards the two unsuspecting guards who were patrolling near the area. The sound of his feet was soon heard but his speed prevents them from noticing what's happened as Natsu jumped high in the air just as their heads were turned towards his direction.

A small shadow loomed above them, prompting them to look as well but was only met with a pair of hands grabbing their helmets in the process. Natsu twisted his body in which his arms followed its direction, causing the two to be flung vicious away from him. A loud clatter of weapons was heard from the rest as their eyes now turned towards the pinkette alone.

"Who are you?!"

"How dare you!?"

Their voices turned hostile along with their weapons as they raised against him. Natsu ignored them and simply charged on ahead to defeat them as well. The guards immediately noticed this and tried to shoot their magic towards him but the dragonslayer easily deflected it with his hands. A brief collective of shocks went over them at his actions but Natsu didn't waste any time and decided to flare his right fist to blow them away with a single swipe.

A great number of soldiers has been blown away back to the waters as the remaining ones tried to retaliate against him with the same tactic. Natsu charged yet again to the group with a fierce look as he elbowed one soldier to his face, breaking his helmet in the process. Two more soldiers tried to surround him from both sides but the pinkette returned with a full roundhouse kick that knocked them out cold in an instant.

His eyes gazed over to the three more soldier coming from the docks. More groups came out from the ship as well as they try to make their way towards him.

Natsu lifted his hand again and pointed it to the docks where it has consisted all of the other soldiers from the ships and fired a huge fireball towards it. A huge explosion was heard from the docks as Natsu cut off the path leading to the island itself by destroying the docks itself. Surrounding people looked at the mysterious assailant with confusion and shock as they saw him take them out with ease.

The dragonslayer heard a sounding alarm from the two ships docking at the port. It seems like they're trying to warn the other outlying ships located in the far distance.

Natsu simply raised his right hand again in an open palm fashion and chanted his spell.

 **"Demonic Fire Dragon's Hell Rage!"**

And with that, a massive wave of dark red flames blasted the ships away in a few seconds, engulfing them whole as it instantly disintegrated it before the wave exploded in the far distance. The size of the explosion was unlike anything the people have seen before. The shockwave reached back in the island in a matter of seconds as if they were witnessing a catastrophic destruction.

Natsu never cared of the destruction as the two ships that once docked the island was turned into a sea of flames as a result.

"This should be enough..."

Content with his objective, he silently walked towards the open road to wait for Sayla. The other people who were still in the middle of their shock turned their eyes towards the pinkette with confusion.

He just literally wiped out a small armada of ships with his own hand just like that. It's obviously mind-blowing. They didn't even get why he attacked the Alvarez navy in the first place or the fact that he just popped out in the blue without knowing.

Natsu ignored their stares and sighed in response as the remaining ships from the open waters began to move to investigate. It's going to take longer for them to reach back at the island but his spell just raised a general alarm on their navy. He didn't care for that and tried to move on with his objective until–

 **BOOM***

His body reacted almost instantly and jumped back as a small explosion was set just right underneath him. He landed safely away from his previous position which now turned into a smoking crater. His eyes landed on an unfamiliar person floating above him. He's a young man with a spiky, dark hair. Accompanied by it was a striped bandana with a pair of glasses placed above his eyes. His outfit consisted of dark-colored trousers and a blazer. Underneath his blazer is a white shirt with a large collar that is kept unturned around his neck.

"Well done. Well done. It's been awhile someone showed and got a lot of guts blowing up half of our small navy force. Well done indeed~"

He spoke in an eccentric manner but Natsu stayed silent with his eyes piercing him with a dark look. His praise carried sarcasm as he clapped further on his actions against the soldiers and the navy but stopped as soon as he noticed his gaze.

"Hoh? I like that face. It always boils me up every time I see someone look at me with those stares."

He spoke again. Natsu was beginning to think that this one is a big talker. A terrible and irritating one that is.

"What a noisy bastard. Do you want to die?"

He threatened but it seems like the man isn't that much affected by his words and simply landed down in front of him with a cheery expression.

"My name's Marin Hollow. And I am part of the Brandish Force that is from the Alvarez Empire's Army."

"I don't care for small fries like you."

Without any time for pleasantries, Natsu's intent to kill was shown towards him as the pinkette immediately disappeared from his previous position. Marin widened his eyes in disbelief at the sudden speed and tried to turn his head around, only to see Natsu with a blazing fist ready to kill him at any moment.

 **"Demonic Fire Dragon's Hell Wave!"**

However, just as the fist is about to reach him, Marin immediately disappeared from his position in a flash thereby, missing his attack and blasted down to the ground that destroyed a large patch of ground on the island. A massive tremor was felt as the people held on to themselves from the mistaken earthquake.

Natsu landed back on the ground before his eyes turned towards one of the roofs located on a few houses away from him. Marin sat casually but eventually took notice of his power as his face wore a mix of caution and cheeriness.

"Man, that was a scare. You were really serious about killing me, aren't you?"

"..." Natsu offered no words and simply flared his fists in flames in response.

"Fufu... It seems like Ishgar contained no such manners. Maybe I should label you as a failure!"

His expression turned unexpectedly hostile as he disappeared from his position, seemingly warped out of sight to begin his counterattack on him. Natsu steeled in alarm until his senses picked up his presence from behind and immediately swung his left arm but–

"Where are you looking at, ya bastard!?"

Natsu was slightly pushed back with a punch from his face as he failed to notice a fist coming straight in front of him. At first, he was mistaken about his presence from his back but realized that he simply used it as a decoy and moved in from another angle to attack him. The pinkette jumped back for a moment and flared both his fists once more and slammed it down the ground, emitting a widespread fire wave around him.

Marin cautiously reappeared a fair distance away from the vicinity and landed on a roof once again. His eyes turned towards the pinkette with seriousness as the ground around him was turned into a scorching wasteland. It was probably the result of his precious spell earlier. If he didn't manage to avoid it, he might've sustained such burns.

 _'Man, just what is this guy?'_

He's a monster in terms of power. His eyes are filled with a killing intent so strong that one mistake would guarantee his death in an instant. He might have to be cautious around him this time. Not only that, a disturbing pressure was felt on his body as if he was only playing with him. Although he was able to land a hit, Natsu offered no reaction to it and looked at with a vicious dark glare.

He's on a completely different level. To compare it to his leader, he might be on par or even more.

"You there... That magic... It's teleporting magic, am I correct?" Natsu inquired. At first, Marin was taken aback but he complied to his question.

"Wrong... This is Spatial Magic. The one who controls space is the victor. Right now, you're in my domain so fighting me is futile."

Despite knowing his enemy's dangerous power, Marin boasted his superiority in terms of his magic type. In addition, he is playing at the palm of his hands now that he has complete control of the space on this island.

On the other hand, Natsu simply shook his head upon learning his magic before speaking.

"I see... In that case, we'll just have to restrict you from using that magic."

"Hah?! Just what are you talking about, huh?!" Unable to grasp of what he just said, Marin let out confusing expression until–

"W-What the?! My body can't–"

All of a sudden, Marin's body was immediately restricted to move for some reason. He can't even shift his head and was forced to move only his eyes around to its available perception. His face contorted in a disbelieving expression as his body started to move on its own towards Natsu without hesitation. It is as if he was being controlled by something.

As soon as he approached in front of him, Natsu looked over to him and greeted another figure that showed herself behind them.

"It looks like I managed to buy us some time to capture him. Thanks a lot, Sayla."

"Controlling him was easy. I was just waiting for the right moment to show up soon."

"What about the other soldiers around the island?" Natsu asked.

"They were taken care of. There are no casualties among the civilians. Nothing too big~"

Sayla smiled and reunited to his side. Marin could look in shock at the appearance of another person in the scene.

"Who–"

"So, what are you gonna do with him, Natsu?" Before he could even ascertain the woman's identity, she cut him off.

"I'll just have a couple of question needed to be answered from him. If he fails to comply, I'll kill him."

"Unfortunately, I can't let you do that."

An unfamiliar voice broke off their atmosphere as Natsu and Sayla steeled in alarm towards the direction where the mysterious figure was. The dust obscures its figure for a moment until it finally simmered down, revealing a woman that gave Marin a sign of relief after seeing her. An unnatural pressure was also felt from her and Natsu and Sayla held their guard up with the latter controlling Marin to raise his arms in retaliation against his ally in the process.

The woman simply stopped at the unusual sight before her. Her expression was uncaring and cold but not long before she spoke for the first time.

"It seems like you got yourself again into trouble, Marin."

The man in question sweated despite being controlled after hearing her cold voice.

"L-Lady Brandish..."

* * *

 **A/N: And stop. Chapter stops right here and another cliffhanger is showed. Sorry for that. Well, things get more intense with the prelude of Alvarez arc now starting off with a bang. Natsu and Sayla faced one of the Spriggan 12 for the first time. Just for the record, Natsu already broke his code of killing and he'd done it during his supposed purge against the dark guild with Sayla. It's up to him whether he wants to spare his enemies or not so expect deaths later on.**

 **As always, leave a review and tell me what you think so far. I'd really appreciate it. Thanks for supporting the story. It really means a lot to me to see readers delighted to my stories. I hope I can keep you all company until at the end of the story. The confrontation between Natsu and Zeref might happen soon so look forward to it. ^^**

 **Thanks again and I'll see you on the next chapter!**

 **\- wiErD SpeCtrumz blacking out… … …**


	18. Spriggan

**A/N: Sup guys, wiErD here and I've got another chapter for you all.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for my plots. Everything else is owned by Hiro Mashima. Support the official release.**

* * *

 **\- Spriggan -**

The atmosphere surrounding the island was full of tension. People stared at the source of this tension towards the two mages standing across from each other. One of them, however, had two more figures standing beside him; one being held captive under the influence of a curse.

Natsu silently observed his opponent right in front of him.

She may seem like a harmless person if not for the insignia present on her right thigh. Judging by how Marin addresses her made him assume that she's the leader of the navy. Most of the people, however, doesn't know her identity but a strong aura was felt in her presence that made everyone of them to feel afraid for some reason.

They could only watch from afar, assuming that these mages might eventually clash anytime soon judging from the hostility towards each other.

A silent staredown between both sides began as Natsu and Sayla narrowed their eyes in caution towards the woman in front of them. She's not the same as those of the guards or Marin. In fact, she could be on another level. This is the first time they'd encounter someone who had an immense magic power. If Natsu could compare her, it would probably stay on par with Gildarts, knowing that he already felt through his capabilities ever since they met a year ago.

He was beginning to realize why both Warrod and Gramps feared Alvarez so much. There's no doubt that there would be more people like her within that large country. Although he hardly cared any of that. Bringing back Gramps back to Fiore is what he signed up for this journey.

Anyone standing in his way would be dealt with as fast as possible.

"L-Lady Brandish, you were here..." Marin's face contorted into a fearful expression as soon as he recognized the woman standing in front of them.

"... It seems like you got yourself into trouble again, Marin."

Despite the lightness of her tone, Marin shook in fear as if he could easily see through her true expression. Seeing how he failed to dismantle the two and even got himself captured is not very pleasing to her at least.

"S-S-Sorry for my incompetence! T-These people were from Ishgar! I never thought they would be this powerful."

"Hmm... Underestimating your opponents, huh? Well, it shouldn't come as a shock to me, though. You've been growing overconfident yourself so this is a good lesson for you."

Brandish sighed before her mind started to wonder elsewhere. It is as if she doesn't want herself to be bothered by anyone unless she was ordered to. She lazily glanced around and timidly observed her surroundings, searching for something to occupy herself. However, the two never let their guard down despite her calm attitude. Her immense magical pressure made sure that if they underestimated her, they would be dead for good.

Taking the opportune time to talk to each other, Sayla began to whisper.

"Natsu... She's strong..."

"I know... But we shouldn't do anything yet. Plus, this is a good time for me to ask her some questions about Alvarez."

Truth be told, he had little knowledge of this foreign land and asking her some questions would be the first option if no fight was done between them. As much as he wanted to try the 'other' method, he wanted to take his chances where he could obtain information the fastest. Sayla nodded in response to his decision and simply backed away while also controlling Marin beside them to use his magic just in case of a surprise attack. The captured mage also stepped away. Due to the influence of her Macro, he cannot do anything to resist her control which only resulted in vain.

Meanwhile, Natsu walked a few steps towards the woman in caution.

Brandish also noticed this which prompted her to stop and met his gaze with a serious look. The dragonslayer stopped in his position, having only a few meters away from her.

"So then, who are you, people?" Brandish asked first.

"It doesn't really matter who we are to you..." Natsu responded with a cold voice.

"I see... But considering that you blew up most of the fleet stationed in Caracall, I had to ask you first or our emperor might not like the idea of having its men killed without having some information." She reasoned, as a matter of fact, glancing towards the sea where most of the navy were wiped out in a fiery blast.

Natsu, however, wore a puzzled look at her reply. His brow quirked in curiosity at the mentioned word.

"Emperor?"

"That's right... Unlike Ishgar which is divided into a group of countries, ours is a united empire that is ruled by one man."

"I see... It makes sense why the Magic Council grows wary of you." Natsu muttered in an undertone.

"...So what's the Alvarez Empire doing on this small island? From what I heard, Caracall used to be independent itself from both continents."

"That's no business from an outlander. I suppose you don't come a long way just to ask that." Brandish raised her brow in suspicion.

"Of course not... Just a mere curiosity from us although I can see that you're looking for some spy." As soon as he let slip off their true objective, Brandish simply huffed in her breath.

"...I don't actually care for this spy. If I could, I would just return back to Aracitacia." Her focus loosened and her guard was completely down despite facing against the two. No matter how you look at it, she doesn't hold any interest in this situation. To her, it was all too much of a bother to meddle with.

"B-But Lady Brandish, we got orders from the capital to catch those rats. Surely, you wouldn't want to disobey our emperor's command."

Marin tried to speak from the other side but not long before the woman in question shot an intimidating glare towards him, silencing him from speaking.

"Are you lecturing me, Marin?"

With her words spoken in an undertone, a portion of her power was released as the island rumbled tremendously, causing the people to panic in fear while Natsu and Sayla steeled themselves against it.

For some reason, they felt a slight resistance coming from below as if they were being elevated for no reason. Natsu glanced around his surroundings but found no changes, except for a few tremors around them. Then, he began to notice the ships that were docked a few kilometers away had disappeared.

 _'What the hell is going on...?'_ He thought inwardly until realization strikes him afterward.

The island was uplifted.

Rather, it was elevated from below. He confirmed its suspicions as soon as his senses noticed the change of climate and the quality of air around them. All of it matches the same conditions as that of a high altitude.

Sayla, on the other hand, thought about activating her own curse due to the sudden burst of magic power. Her senses triggered almost immediately to defend Natsu since Brandish seemed rather a dangerous enemy when provoked, judging from the portion of power she just released.

However, Brandish soon receded her own power, thereby stopping the tremors as well. Sayla had Marin move into a stance just in case of an attack and at the same time, the same sensation that Natsu felt about the island finally dawned on her as well.

"The island... was elevated? What kind of magic is that?"

Marin continues to make a scared expression as soon as he saw Brandish' anger directed towards him.

"You were saying something, Marin?"

"Hiiiiieee! A-Apologies, Lady Brandish!"

"Know your place... I don't like it the most when someone like you lectures me over something useless." She warned.

"I-It won't happen again, Milady... But our job is to capture the spy and their acquaintances. And we can't go back empty-handed..."

"I don't see any acquaintances or the spy just yet. From what I can tell, these two are in for a different business." Brandish gazed at the pinkette with a questionable look.

"... You don't happen to be the acquaintances of the spy in here, aren't you?"

"And what if I do?"

"Then it would be easier for me to deal with you two this instant... Though sadly, I don't want concern myself with two people right now in front of me."

Her words indicate that she's underestimating them. Natsu simply ignored her response. Another wave of silence assailed in the air until she began to speak once again.

"By the way, can you let go of that man?" She pointed over to Marin who felt a bit relieved, seeing that she actually wanted him back. However, Natsu lifted his hand sideways, gesturing his denial of her request to release the mage from their hold.

"I'm afraid I can't do that. I need some questions to be answered first."

"I don't answer to anyone. Like I said, troublesome matters aren't my favorite."

"I take it that you don't want to hear any talks." Natsu guessed.

"Unfortunately, no. I don't have time for any trivial matters. So I'll ask again, release that man."

No reply was given to her as Natsu opposed her intimidating expression while Sayla and Marin looked restlessly between each of their companions, fearing an imminent battle between them anytime soon. Surges of power slowly began to circle around Natsu and Brandish as the former released his flames while the latter emitted her own power in form of white energy.

The two auras surrounded the whole island and their eyes grew more vicious towards each other.

"Sayla... Use that guy's magic to teleport everyone away from the island. Move them to the ships, it seems like I got to take care of something first before we could go." A quick order from the dragonslayer was heard as he answered with a stern look. Sayla nodded in response before using Marin's magic to teleport every single person away from the island.

At that moment, People began to disappear one by one from open space as soon as his magic was cast. Activities were stopped as the entire population of the island vanished into thin air. It is as if a strange phenomenon befell in the small island itself and carried its inhabitants away in a blink of an eye. Silence assailed in the air, bringing the lively known island look like a ghostly place.

Only four people were left in the now empty island as Marin looked at his enemies with a scornful look.

"How dare you use my magic like that?! That's intolerable–Guha!" Marin tried to protest but Sayla silenced him by punching his own stomach, sending him in a spasm.

"Be quiet...!"

"Y-You... dare to defile my loyalty to Lady Brandish!?"

His protests were ignored by the two, seeing that they didn't care about him. Natsu confronted Brandish with a murderous look on his face. The lack of innocent people around the island made him slightly relieved since he can now do anything he wants without holding back.

His gaze pierced through her eyes with a killing intent and released a rather dark tone.

"I'm giving you one last chance... Where is Makarov?" Revealing his question for the first time, Brandish merely sent a menacing look after realizing their intentions. At the same time, she also made up her mind to respond to him in a clear fashion.

"I see now... You're Fairy Tail."

..

..

In that instant, the fight started.

As if her words triggered him to attack first, Natsu bursts forward in a fiery wave as his figure dashed straight to her in great speeds that even experienced mages like Sayla could not keep up their eyes on him. Flames danced around his body, forming a large whirl of hellish fire as it engulfs anything that comes in its way. The heat was felt instantly, showing its intensity. The ground was immediately turned in a land of fire as he flew towards her.

The scale of power was high enough for everyone to feel his power skyrocketing in an instant as soon as the fight began. Natsu clearly doesn't intend to hold back.

Brandish, on the other hand, was oddly calm as ever as if she can read through his moves. Her eyes wandered to the crimson blur heading straight towards her. There was no threat or any cautious response behind her movements as she stands there doing nothing.

Sayla suddenly felt anxious.

There's something wrong with that woman's magic.

Her intuition suddenly sprung up to her after noticing her calm yet dark gaze. She didn't want to believe it yet but her assumptions were made true as Marin smirked beside her as they watched the fight between their companions slowly unfold. Apart from his scared expression earlier, it seems like he already knew who the victor of the fight is.

Of course, the fight was supposed to be instant after all. Sayla could easily predict how Natsu could kill Brandish once he lands that deadly fist towards her. And even if she manages to survive the blow, her body, no matter how much magic she has, cannot fathom to withstand the force driven in that fist.

But–

She had no knowledge of his opponent. Even if the portion of her power was released earlier, she could not hold any understanding behind its true nature aside from bringing up the island in a high altitude.

As Natsu approaches with his right fist instantly reaching to her face, Brandish merely raised her right hand at the last second.

It was too fast to see through the whole ordeal. Any normal person cannot understand what happened in a short few seconds of their confrontation since the two had the same wavelength of processing their senses in that short duration.

And at that moment, Natsu widen his eyes in surprise as Brandish shot her glare towards him.

He realized it too late.

"Like I said, I don't have time for any trivial matters."

"Wha–"

She muttered as soon as the short battle reached its end. Sayla shot her eyes wide in disbelief and horror as the Natsu disappeared from sight. It was in an instant that she can't see his presence anywhere or where he once stood at.

More likely, she can't even sense his magic around the vicinity. As if his existence was snuffed out in an instant.

Flames also disappeared instantly along with the pinkette. Vanishing into thin air, the deadly attack was mysteriously canceled. Sayla couldn't process what just had happened and could only watch in shock as Natsu disappeared without a trace. Silence returned with a hollow wind brushing past the empty island itself.

No words were exchanged in that brief moment as if the world itself took a pause after that unprecedented aftermath. Brandish stood solely on the battlefield without injuries or any sight of the pinkette earlier. The battle is already finished without any explanation of what just happened. Only Sayla's quivering voice cut through the silence afterward.

"W-What just happened...? W-Where's Natsu?"

It was then, Marin finally changed his expression. A dark grin was plastered on his face as soon as the pinkette was defeated by his leader.

"(Chuckles*)... You underestimated our Lady Brandish. It's a death wish for someone who intends on fighting her alone."

"W-What?"

"It seems like you two didn't know about her at all... Lady Brandish is one of the special elite force that guards our emperor, The Spriggan 12."

"Spriggan 12?"

At that moment, Brandish glanced towards Sayla as soon as she heard Marin explaining things about them. As if to answer her confusion towards her fight with Natsu, she began to speak as well.

"That's right. It's composed of 12 wizards of the same level as me that protects the emperor. That man earlier seemed to be asking a rather delicate question which makes me assume that you two were from Fairy Tail, however..."

"... it seems like you don't look like you know your spy hiding here in Caracall. Whatever the case may be, it doesn't change the fact that Ishgar had finally sent someone to retrieve Makarov." She explained.

Her explanation was left unanswered as Sayla cut her off with a distressed shout.

"Where's Natsu?!" She demanded.

"Where you say? I killed him with my own magic." Brandish replied as a matter of fact which caused Sayla to widen her eyes in shock after hearing it.

Moreover, she was immediately caught in despair as her hands trembled in the process. Tears were starting to pour out from her eyes out of sorrow at the disappearance of her love.

From all her life, she always believed that Natsu would stand victorious against any foe because he promised to become stronger for her. He always held a strong conviction to overcome their enemy and she always relied on him for that. She believed him with all her heart but she immediately realized...

She failed to save him.

He was always there to save her when it mattered but she couldn't do the same for him this time.

At that realization, she collapsed down to her knees with dull eyes and a broken expression. Without even knowing it, tears were already streaming down to her cheeks as she looked at the spot where she last saw him.

Brandish didn't give a light hint of concern to her opponent and simply adopted a dark look on her face.

"I would like to overlook this incident once. I'll let them know that I've taken care of the spy here on the island."

"W-What?" Sayla seemed to follow despite in her current condition.

"Simple... Let go of that man and I'll let you live this time and report back to Ishgar." Brandish proposed, shocking both her and Marin in the process though the latter immediately responded in protest of her deal with their enemy.

"L-Lady Brandish!? You're really okay with that?!"

"There's no point in killing her here. Plus, Ishgar wouldn't dare attack us here now that they know who they're dealing with."

She paused for a brief moment and sighed in response. Talking too much seemed to be quite a hassle. She never thought having a long conversation would be this tiring. Her carefree expression was visibly shown despite being in a middle of a battle.

Sayla could only stay on her knees as soon as Brandish turned her attention towards her and Marin. Her mind is torn between losing Natsu and facing a powerful enemy before her. A despaired look on her face was visibly shown. It's hard to tell if she's intent on opposing her or not after seeing her breakdown.

"Well then, I'm giving you one last chance to let go of that man or you'll end up like your comrade. What it'll be?"

Brandish asked with her eyes gazed solely on the demon girl.

Her hands prompted ready to use magic depending on her decision to let go or resist her demand. Either way, she's going to have her own way even if she tries to deny her request on releasing him.

And in that spur of a moment, a small disturbance of space erupted beside Brandish. As if to answer her question, the distortion instantly grew before a surge of dark red flames exited from it, followed by a kick that caught everyone's attention by surprise.

Brandish haven't gotten the time to react to the sudden interruption as she instantly brought up her fists to her face, colliding the kick in the process while also succumbed to the burning heat as a result.

"Wha-!"

Shock befell on her face before being blown a couple of meters away as the force overpowered her body and arms, sending her in a whirl of pain that she tried to suppress afterward.

Sayla and Marin were shocked as well as soon as she was pushed aside from the battlefield and simply looked at the distortion.

"W-What the hell's happening?" Confusion and disbelief arose to the observers as they looked at the whirling distortion in surprise.

Brandish discerned the unnatural occurrence as her eyes darted over to the distortion with a frustrated look.

Relief returned to Sayla as the distortion revealed an unscathed Natsu who was thought out to be dead earlier at the moment of his disappearance from the fight. A dark smirk was plastered on his face as he looked at Brandish with a full understanding of her magic.

"Natsu!"

"H-How is that possible?! How can you be still alive?!" Marin stuttered in disbelief.

..

..

"Phew... And here I thought your magic was supposed to be feared that much but it seems like it's not really that powerful enough to destroy me..."

Natsu proceeded to speak as soon as he stood fairly on the ground and faced Brandish who had her left arm clutching to her dangling right after taking that huge blow from before. The kick was unexpected that she failed to prepare herself for such an attack that left her a broken right arm. Pain assailed to her in great amounts that she tried to suppress as she struggles to focus her attention to the pinkette.

"How... did you get out of my magic?" She asked in a surprised tone.

"Ah, that... In all honesty, I got a hunch about the nature of your magic earlier when you released a portion of your magic towards the island. So I tested it out with my own magic as well. My observations seemed quite dead on the spot." He answered with an amused tone of his voice.

"... Your magic manipulates the mass of every object you can see. It seems like, in that moment between our fight, you tried to shrink me into the smallest size just so I wouldn't be a threat anymore." He explained.

Brandish didn't answer as she only made a scornful remark on his explanation, indicating her distaste of the situation.

"The moment I saw your power, you were already a threat to the empire. That's why I took the fastest method to get rid of you right away."

"And that would be shrinking me until I'm no longer a viable one, am I right?" Natsu finished.

"That doesn't explain how you were able to escape from my magic!" She shouted. Natsu went silent for a brief moment as they exchanged glances towards each other.

"Tell me... Do you know anything about curses?" He spoke.

"C-Curses?!" Brandish felt dumbfounded at the word.

"That's right... Curses are different forms of power that were once derived from the one everyone called magic... However, there is one who created a different form of magic that is based on the nature of life..."

"... Humans could never hold such curses because they feed on their emotions. Hatred, envy, fear... No one has never withstood to the despair it brings that's why only demons can possess them."

"D-Demons... T-Then you are–"

"A demon." At that moment, demonic horns soon began to appear on both Natsu and Sayla as they revealed their true nature towards them. Brandish was left in utter surprise at the revelation. She didn't expect that a demon would eventually come through here to Aracitacia. Moreover, this is the first time she'd encountered one.

"Magic is inferior to curses... It is superior from all aspects. The reason why I easily destroyed your magic is because of my curse." At that point, she also noticed a dreadful aura emanating from the pinkette. She couldn't explain it but for some reason, her body started shivering out of fear all of a sudden.

She was never this shaken before and by just looking at him made her frightened. No, rather... the intimidating aura that he was releasing in the atmosphere is what causes her to feel terror. Behind that aura lies a powerful presence that made her that way. It shouldn't be possible for her because she was trained to resist this type of intimidation but no...

The man in front of her was no ordinary demon.

At that moment, she also began to feel another powerful magic pressure in the island itself once more. Huge tremors followed soon afterward as Natsu continues to pour out his power even more. Dark red flames surrounded his body in a massive torrent that rose up high into the skies. Sayla and Marin also felt the strong pressure with the former widening her eyes in shock at the extent of the pinkette's power for the first time. She never felt this kind of pressure from him as of now. Even going back as far as that time when he started using his own powers for the first time, she never expected him to be this incredibly strong.

She just realized how devastating it would be if he were to unleash both his curse and magic at this point. Feeling this kind of pressure reminds her of that time when she faced Natsu in his uncontrolled state. That one thought worried her as she looked at the pinkette from afar.

It is as if he was starting to look like him.

Dark red flames burn the surrounding area within the dragonslayer as the curse was released from his body in the process. Brandish and the others could feel the intense heat in the air as the flames continue to spread around and burn everything in its path like a wildfire. At the center of the conflagration was him, standing fiercely with his horns vaguely visible from his head. Red eyes glowed in crimson that replaced his black onyx orbs. Scales formed around his arms and feet while some also noticeable from his face as well.

The injured Spriggan member was forced to take a step back as she felt the atmosphere around her begins to rise up. Sweat formed on her face, indicating the unbearable heat. Fear and disbelief struck her heart as she saw the pinkette in his monstrous form.

This guy...

What power...

"Don't underestimate me!"

As if to retaliate against his overwhelming strength, Brandish tried to use her magic inside his body but nothing happened. Her magic cannot grasp inside his body due to the flames incinerating it in the process which left her completely shocked.

"I-Impossible!"

"I already told you... Your magic can never affect me anymore." Slowing moving into his stance, Natsu locked his eyes towards Brandish with a murderous look.

"Now then, let's see how you can handle this."

She could only brace herself due to her injured arm and other wounds that she sustained earlier from him. She cannot use her magic properly and the huge pain continues to lead her focus away from her opponent.

"Here I come..."

In an instant, Natsu disappeared into a crimson blur. The sudden movement prompted Brandish to initially raise her guard up after noticing his inhumane speed. Her senses picked up the blur heading straight towards her and tried to leap away from the scene. The blurred attack soon took form as Natsu slammed his fist down to the ground, barely missing the Spriggan mage as she tumbled to a safe distance. A deafening sound zoomed across the island at the moment of the collision. The ground shook violently, causing it to crack into pieces that sent a tremendous shockwave around the island that also reaches by sea.

Surviving ships of the Alvarez armada and the civilian ships felt the force drawn from the island as people braced at the deck for dear life. Huge waves followed after the sound, slamming the hull constantly until it slowly died down.

Their eyes darted back on the elevated island in shock.

The island itself was split in two as if some divine intervention occurred around it. The ground cracked open as debris began to fall down into the sea, indicating the island's collapse.

Brandish widened her eyes in shock towards the pinkette who lay standing in the middle of the destruction. The ground was completely obliterated, leaving a huge rift separating her and the three from each other. Large chunks of debris crashed into the sea and the island itself begins to crumble from below.

In just one fist, he was able to destroy an entire island with ease.

Even Sayla and Marin couldn't believe what they were currently seeing right now.

"Haah... Not bad... If you hadn't dodged that one, you wouldn't return in one piece." Natsu spoke in an uncaring manner as he looked at the crumbling island itself in disappointment.

Truth be told, if she failed to notice it in the last second, she would've been obliterated into pieces. That amount of force and power can easily kill anyone regardless of their powers as one of the strongest mages. She was no exception.

"W-Wha-What power? J-Just what the heck are you two?!" Marin couldn't even express his own thoughts towards the destruction laid around them. Sayla kept silent as she tried to control him with her curse while also observing her companion from afar with a worried expression.

"It seems like I've yet to release all of my power just yet."

"You were holding back?!" Brandish widened her eyes in disbelief after picking his statement.

"Of course... Otherwise, I would've caught everyone here in the explosion, those people included." Natsu answered but not long before he locked his fist again and spoke again.

"... You underestimated me so I had to pay you back somehow and also, just to remind you of what would happen if anyone who tries to stand in my way. I missed my mark this time but if you're really intent on fighting us, I won't miss a second time."

Shooting an intimidating glare, Natsu flared his fist in flames once again, indicating his powers escalating into tremendous levels once more.

Brandish, on the other hand, just realized how helpless she was right now against him. The overwhelming display of power simply blew her expectations right off the bat and he was just toying with her. He can be as powerful as their leader–no, rather, he might be way above them, to say the least. There is no information of such mages like him in Ishgar. This eventually caused her to realize something in this fight. She isn't sure if she can win against him at her current state. Her disabled right arm and burnt scratches all over her body is a disadvantage to her in this fight.

At this rate, she's never going to return back alive.

Gritting her teeth in frustration, she suddenly crouched down with her hands placed on the ground which also activated her magic.

"Tch." Clicking her tongue, Brandish enlarged the ground surrounding both Natsu and Sayla along with Marin in the process, forming a giant wall of earth from both sides.

She raised her hands and clapped them together as the ground walls locked the trio inside before changing its mass to shrink the space inside.

Natsu sighed at the futile attempt and swung his arm around with flames lashing out from it.

"Useless..."

The ground instantly broke into pieces before darkness could consume their vision. There was no effort to confront him, though. And the idea to encase them with merely a wall isn't going to change the tide of battle. Natsu knew better as he looked at the position where his opponent used to be. He could only shake his head down in assumption.

It would seem like she used a diversion to get herself out of the battlefield and retreated with the surviving ships.

"L-Lady Brandish!?"

The two gazed over towards the sea where the Alvarez armada began to flee away from the island. Brandish landed on one of the ships before looking back at the collapsing island with a grim look. She would have to report this to the empire. Saving Marin is nothing but a hopeless attempt. With those two, she knew better to withdraw from this fight and warn the emperor about them.

Going back, Natsu and Sayla simply stared at the fleeing ships as the battle reaches to an end. It looks like their mission got blown in the process.

"They're... fleeing," Sayla spoke in realization as Natsu lowered his power and calmed down.

"Seems like it. At any rate, they now know that we're already coming for Gramps."

"What're we gonna do now?" She asked.

"For now lets–" His statement was abruptly cut off as soon as the tremors around the split island returned once more. The changed mass beneath the island floor crumbles, forcing the island to collapse as well in the process.

The ground didn't withstand the dragonslayer's attack and succumbed to its collapsing state as parts of the island are slowly swallowed in the sea.

"Let's head out. We'll be able to think over our plan once we reached the country."

"Right."

"Are there any people injured elsewhere around the area?" He asked.

"No, not that I think of."

"I see... I'm glad... Well then, use his magic to teleport us towards Alvarez. I'm afraid we wasted too much time here."

"H-Hey, don't go using my magic, you bastards–Gugh!"

"Shut up and get going. I'll just have to get information from you about this place." Natsu silenced the captive mage as soon as Sayla began to control his body to teleport them away from the island.

"Guh–like hell I would tell you everything!" Marin spat.

"I don't need to... I'll just have to force you to speak." He looked at Sayla with reassurance who seemed to understand his statement.

"You wouldn't dare–"

Before he could retort against them, Sayla forced to shut his body down and left him unconscious on the ground. He was beginning to sound very annoying so she had to do it. Natsu sighed and gave her a quick 'Thank you' before recollecting his thoughts for a moment. It's been awhile since he used his curse fully without using any magic to it. Even though he finally got full control of it, the effects still continued to affect his mind every now then.

Just earlier, he slightly became rather ruthless...

Over the past months of destroying dark guilds in Fiore, he never once tried to use much of his power because he relied both on his magic and his curse equally. But this is the first time, he used his curse without the help of the other. He knew that using this would be his last option if things don't get too well on their end but he didn't expect of the effects that changed his mind quite a bit.

 _'This is nothing... I shouldn't be worrying at a time like this.'_

Shaking down his thoughts, Natsu returned to the matter at hand.

"We should keep moving... We can't afford to waste time anymore."

"Yes, Natsu."

The dragonslayer picked up the unconscious mage and vanished into thin air as they head out towards the mainland, leaving the island sinking down to the bottom of the ocean floor.

* * *

 ** _A couple of hours later…_**

Erza and the others silently sailed their journey towards Caracall as time progressed throughout the day. The gloomy atmosphere remained unchanged as each member had their own thoughts to think about alone at the moment.

Lucy was sitting on a nearby bench located at the edge of the ship's hull, Gray was standing in silence across it while Erza stood at the arch with a deep thought. Mest had gone inside the deck to see how Wendy and the others are doing well while also trying to establish communication with the contacted spy on the island.

Unfortunately, there is still no contact regarding the spy so everyone had to assume something happened.

"Well, that's all I can say at this moment. For some reason, I can't get in contact with them just yet." Mest finished explaining as soon as he returned back to inform the others.

"Did you try checking the lacrima? Maybe it broke or something?" Erza inquired.

"Not likely... Plus, the range would be enough for us to put through some connection since we're nearing the island. Something must've happened, otherwise, she might be contacting about our rendezvous at this point." Mest explained.

"It seems like we'll have to find it ourselves once we land on the island."

"It might not be that hard, right? From what I know Caracall has its independent territory from both sides." Lucy spoke.

"True, but this is Alvarez we're talking about. If Master knew all the information regarding their past invasion and their objective to acquire Lumen Histoire, it would be possible for them to take hold of the island as their gateway towards Ishgar. Caracall also has a strategic position in terms of both countries although we can't guarantee our own invasion of the Western Continent due to the weakened Council we have right now."

A depressed sigh came from the rest of the group as they began to see their current situation as of now. It seems like everything has their odds stacked against them. With a country invading and all of that. They were unaware of it until now since everyone had their own paths to take at that time.

And in that span of time, they lived their lives separately wherever their own paths led them a year back. Everyone was back but with some really great changes that they didn't expect to come by.

One of those changes really affected them as a whole.

All their thoughts point to Natsu who mysteriously left the guild to ally with Tartaros. They knew there's a reason behind his actions because they believed him to be the same person who spent a lot of memories with them in the past.

Despite the harsh rejections, they kept on believing. They wanted him to return back as soon as possible in order for them to be whole again along with Gramps.

But–

Things have gotten too much far between them and the situation regarding the Western Continent simply drew them further apart. They started to wonder just what will happen once they confronted him again.

"So what are we going to expect there? I mean, it's an island but I should know about the inhabitants there." Gray asked this time. Mest looked at the ice mage with a calm expression.

"Nothing really... Just some nice people since that island is also a resort. We might be able to blend in if we could try to look like we're visiting there or some sort."

"I see..."

"Anyways, it's not like we're walking on safe shoes here. Once we get to our spy, they'll provide us the information we need from inside Alvarez and possibly pinpoint us Master's location."

"I hope that's true enough. I hate that we might be the ones sparking this war against them." Gray sighed.

"The Council has been very keen on making peace terms with the Western Continent. Master Warrod knew better of the situation. Either way, he thinks that Alvarez will not back down from their invasion."

"So that means–" Lucy stuttered.

"Yeah..."

"Rescuing the old man would surely boost their decision as well. I don't think there's no other way for them to stop now." Gray assumed.

"That's right. As much as I wanted to avoid the conflict, we have no choice. Master will likely never succeed in the negotiations and who knows they might start jumping the gun on him."

"Don't say that. If Master was really stalling their advance until now, then there's a chance that he actually succeeded and probably waiting for all of us to gather together." Erza interrupted.

"We'll never know until we find him."

"In any case, we should prepare soon... Caracall should be a few more minutes ahead. I'll head back to see if I can try to communicate with them." The three mages nodded in response as they watched the Teleport mage head inside the deck, leaving all three of them once more.

Lucy and Gray stood near beside Erza who still remained in her position at the front of the ship, observing the horizon.

"Master..."

..

..

..

Another couple of minutes passed.

And there's still no sign of land spotted in the area. The ship continued to sail forth towards the direction where Caracall was located but they haven't spotted even a single piece of land towards the horizon.

"Are you sure we're heading the right way? I don't see any island here!" Lucy shouted from above deck as she tried to look around for any island within the area.

"Yes! The direction is exactly on what the map says. We can't be that far now." Mest shouted from below. Beside him were Erza and Gray who were also waiting at the moment.

"Damn..." Mest cursed underneath his lips.

"Hope Wendy and the others have something to catch their eye elsewhere." Gray looked beside Erza with a hopeful expression.

"Don't worry, Wendy's a strong girl. Plus, she's a dragonslayer. She might be able to spot something together with Happy and Carla."

"I hope you're right."

The group waited for the blue-haired girl to come back as she was sent to scour the vast ocean with the help of the other two Exceeds. As soon as they found out that they found something wrong, Wendy volunteered on the search for the island. Despite their protest to let her settle on the ship, she persisted in doing so which left them with no choice but to let her as well.

It wasn't a pleasant idea since Wendy wanted to find Natsu as soon as possible. With Happy beside her at that time, they don't want them running off on their own. But in the end, they had to since they're wandering the ocean for too long without any sight of the island.

Gray was about to say something until a familiar voice finally came back to them.

"Everyone!"

Their eyes darted above the sky as they saw Wendy and the two Exceeds finally came back from their search. Judging from their sweating expressions, it seems like they searched really hard enough to find anything for them to follow.

"Wendy!"

They waited as the sky dragonslayer landed back down to the deck but easily forgetting the fact that she can't handle the transportation, leaving her in a state of nausea.

"Are you alright?! You should try to rest first!" Lucy was about to help until Wendy shakily raised her hand before speaking.

"N-Nevermind me... I found something."

"What is it?"

"There are a couple of ships headed this way. They seemed to be packed with people."

"Great! We could ask them once we see them."

"Good work, Wendy..." Erza smiled.

"I-I'm fine but..."

"I know... We'll find him once we rescued Master." She patted the bluenette in reassurance before the two Exceeds carried the sick dragonslayer to a bench to rest while the rest prepared on adjusting their sail towards the spotted ships a few kilometers ahead.

Erza and the others prepared themselves as soon as their eyes spotted a few ships heading towards them. According to Wendy, the passengers are mostly civilians but they had to raise their guard just in case. They don't know what to expect since they're already out of Fiore.

"I have a feeling that something must've happened. For them to come all around here in those numbers." Gray stated. His eyes glaring into suspicion.

"We won't know until we find out." Erza finished.

..

..

It took for about a few more minutes until the ships finally arrived and met the group as well. The ships were full of civilians, nothing more. They don't seem to be bad folk since they freely docked their ships together in hopes of seeking help with each other.

"Are you guys from Fiore?" One of the people asked the group looking over to the other ship.

"Yes! We are." Erza spoke for the group, both their guard is lowered down at the exchange of words.

"Great! Can we ask some directions towards the nearest port? We're just about to head there."

"Just a few miles from here. But we're kinda lost as well. Can you help us too?" Lucy called out.

"Where to?"

"To Caracall. We were told that the island should be in this direction."

The group expected an honest answer since they assumed that they knew the places around these waters but they didn't expect them to wear downed expressions. The mention of the island drew a rather grim atmosphere amongst the people on board. Their heads hung low and were somehow hesitant to answer in response.

The group noticed this and couldn't help but ask.

"What's wrong? Did something happen?" Lucy asked.

There was a moment of silence until one of them spoke.

"I'm afraid you'll find the island no longer here."

"H-Huh? What do you mean no longer here?" Gray felt stuttered at their reply.

"It is as you said, the island is no longer present here. There was a battle that took place earlier. Some two individuals quarreled with the Alvarez navy that was docking in the island."

The group could only draw shocked expressions at the mention of the empire near the island.

"W-Wait what? The empire is in Caracall?" Mest tried to ask in a surprised tone.

The people looked at each other before nodding altogether at his question.

"Yes... They came there to find some spy hiding in that place. Of course, we want them out of the island but they forced their way and we've left with no choice but to comply with them until it was over."

"..." The group went silent.

There's no doubt that the mentioned spy is indeed theirs. Hearing the mention of a pursuit means that the empire got wind with the stolen information and tried to prevent the spy from leaking it to them.

However, Erza was keener at the mentioned fight of the two mysterious individuals so she decided to change the topic.

"You say, there was a fight. What happened?"

"Well, we don't know much about them but they decided to get rid of the soldiers in the island and started fighting with their leaders. Of course, we tend to get some spectacle of it but those people were insane. Their powers are unlike anything I've seen before. It gave me the shivers, to be honest." One of the witnesses explained.

"Yeah, those people were like monsters and are fighting like crazy but this other one is more frightening than those Alvarez ones." Another spoke up from the crowd.

"Other one?"

"Yeah, the one who controls the flames."

Shock dawned from the group as the people continued their explanation. Even Wendy who was sitting on the far side of the ship could somehow catch on to their conversation.

"Man, he was scary that one. And he seemed like a dangerous one despite him and his other friend helping out to get rid of those soldiers."

"He's the one who also destroyed the island."

"Destroyed?"

"Yeah. He obliterated the whole thing with just a fist. I've never been so scared in my entire life. That's why we sailing to Fiore to seek shelter."

Before the conversation reached its end, Erza pushed another question. Her eyes filled with uncertainty as she spoke to the group.

"Can you describe this person? What was he like?"

"I think he's rather tall but his cloak made it hard for me to see anything on his appearance but there's one thing I noticed, though... he had pink hair."

To confirm their suspicions, the group finally discerned the man's identity as they looked at each other with surprised looks.

"Erza... There's no mistaking it. It's–" Lucy tried to speak but Erza cut her off.

"Natsu... It's him alright." Erza bit her lip in realization.

"But what is he doing out here in Caracall? You don't mean he's got wind about Master's disappearance." Mest reasoned.

"I wouldn't know for sure. Last time we parted with him, it left some pretty bitter taste between us and him. Rescuing Master like that would be like stupid or some sort." Gray thought out loud.

"You're forgetting that he was once part of Fairy Tail, Gray. Natsu isn't that unforgiving as you might think." Erza scolded.

"I'm just saying as a possibility. I don't get quite the fact that he's risking to save Master when he said that he doesn't want anything to do with us." Gray explained.

"Alright, we had enough. We should just all calm down and think for a second." Lucy suggested.

"You mages know this guy?"

The group somehow drew a hesitant expression until Erza spoke for them.

"Y-Yeah... He was at least."

"I see... Well, we should be on our way. We lost everything on that island so we had to start anew once we land in Fiore."

"Really sorry for the trouble. If there's anything you need, I'll try to return them to the same degree." Erza, being as honest as she is, bowed in an apology which startled the crowd who politely denied her offer with a smile.

"It's nothing to worry about. I just hope that things would go well once you meet with him."

"Y-Yes... Of course."

"Thank you once again. And good luck on your journey to Aracitacia."

After a moment, the ships departed and went on the other way as the group left to sail towards their designated place.

"That was quite a shock, you know... For him to show up here and all." Mest finally began to speak.

"We won't know anything about his intentions here until we found him." Erza shook her head in deep thought. Gray and Lucy were also the same and were rather serious about the topic.

"But still, obliterating an island that easy? Natsu couldn't even do it before even if it takes a whole lot of effort in him. He must have gotten a pretty serious reason to train this much." Lucy shuddered.

"Well powers aside, I just got in contact with the spy. I would like us to teleport to the rendezvous spot as soon as possible." Mest cut through the conversation.

"Wait! Right now?!"

Before Lucy and the others could even protest, Mest already had them to teleport elsewhere, finally leaving the ship in the process.

It was only a few seconds as the group finally land in a strange place as Gray and Lucy crashed down on top of each other while Erza landed safely with shocked look present on her face. Wendy and the Exceeds also landed elsewhere within the spot with the same expression as the scarlet knight.

"Oi! Don't just go teleporting us without informing beforehand!" Carla was the first one to shout out in protest as soon as the group finally recomposed themselves.

"Where are we?" Happy asked while also helping Wendy on her feet after recovering from her motion sickness. The rest soon also recovered and finally looked around the strange place in wonder and confusion.

The construction of the place is merely on stones as they saw the pavement made exactly as one. Several detailed pillars are seen in some places, probably designed to support the upper ceiling.

"It looks like a temple... You sure this is the place?" Lucy asked. Mest nodded briefly.

Their astonishment didn't end in the area's appearance. What surprised the most is the view from the windows of the temple. Multiple schools of fish swam past the windows which briefly obscures the rest of the scenery as the group marveled at the sight of the sea floor itself.

Corals and other forms of marine life can be seen clearly. For some reason, the water seemed to be blocked from entering the temple itself despite having none to prevent it from flowing inside. It is as if some kind of invisible wall was placed between it though it was completely proven false as Wendy reached out her hand and felt the cold water from the outside.

"That's so cool!" Happy joined in with the hand touching as he reached out his paw to place it on the water boundary. Leaving the temple's impressive look, the group soon turned to Mest in question.

"What is this place?" Gray asked.

"Well, we're still in Caracall waters but underwater to be exact as you can see in the windows."

"So... where's the spy?"

"I dunno, she said to meet us here but I haven't gotten touch with her."

"Her?"

"That's right!" As if to answer to their suspicions, a familiar voice echoed across the large temple as all eyes turned towards the crude old stone chair placed on the far front of the hall. The chair soon turned to reveal its occupant that caused mostly everyone to widen their eyes at the recognition of the female seating in it.

"Welcome aboard! To the Moving Temple Olympia, this is your captain Sorano~"

"A-Angel?!" Lucy jaw dropped while also taking note of her current clothing which consisted of a skimpy swimsuit.

"So the spy..."

"That's right! I'm your lovely spy, Angel! At your service." Angel stood up from her seat and bowed elegantly with a lively expression present on her face.

"I thought it would be Cobra who would take part in this." Erza looked at Mest with displeasure.

"He was asking way too much so she's the better candidate. Well, leaving that aside, you know what happened back there on that island or whatever's left of it, don't you, Angel?" Mest looked at the spy with a serious look.

Angel paused her cheerful demeanor and stared right back at them with the same expression.

"It seems like you people now know about it too, huh? Well, I won't hide or ask anything about what happened between you and him..." She released a huge sigh before starting her explanation.

"It is as you said, your friend was there along with some other woman I don't know of. They were clearly looking for something on the island. At first, I thought they were the ones I would meet but I figured that Mest isn't with them so I stayed put. While I hid in secret from the soldiers, I watched them dismantle the unit that was chasing after me and faced with their leader."

"What happened?" A tense atmosphere was brewing within the group.

"Well, they didn't stand a chance but they somehow managed to flee from him and their fight left the island sinking down to the ocean floor. Of course, I have to shift my position elsewhere because of the debris crashing from above. But at doing that, I lost sight of them."

"Seems like they also left in a hurry. Do you know where they're headed?" Erza asked.

"Told you I haven't gotten a clear look since I was busy relocating the temple." Angel huffed.

"So Natsu's really been here." Happy muttered in realization.

"Anyway, leaving your friend aside, we should also talk about our matters at hand. I believe, Makarov might not have enough time with us here talking to each other after that little stunt with those two."

"Wait, you know where Master is?" Erza asked in surprised.

"Yeah... Although, you might have to buckle up just in case." She returned to her seat as a series of magical interfaces popped up in front of her. She immediately clicked a few buttons here and there, resulting in a slight tremor coming from the temple.

The group realizes this and could only wobble at the tremor while also trying to look for a place to hold on to.

"W-What's happening?"

"Here we go, Olympia Underwater Mode on!"

A bigger tremor soon followed as the temple slowly began to move while the exterior such as pillars surrounding the temple fell apart from their hold before huge wings appeared from the side of the temple and began to flap in quick succession.

The temple became an underwater vehicle.

"Transportation!?" The long unforgettable nausea returned to the sky dragonslayer as she crashed to the ground with a dizzy headache. The rest simply tended to her while also looking at Angel with a confusing look.

"Where are we going?"

"Some place near Makarov. Hold on tight, this could get bumpy."

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile… Alvarez Empire Capital, Vistarion…_**

Conjoined towers that symbolized the united empire at its prime are seen overhead within the plaza. People in their style clothing wandered the huge streets in a lively manner and the atmosphere seemed rather peaceful despite a war looming.

Cultures in Ishgar are vastly different from these people as they looked all reserved, unlike from the rambunctious ones on the said continent. Sunlight shined through the busy capital as soldiers formed in groups while making their patrol on every street which majority of them are located on the huge building situated at the center.

The huge street connects to its entrance towards the other buildings that lie beside it. Intricate and symmetrical

Situated within the building was a small garden. Two old men sat on a table with cards laid on top of it in a fixed position. A manner of game is being held.

Silence assailed in these men as no words were exchanged and the faint sounds of cards flipping were heard throughout time.

As if to speak for the sake of quelling the unbearable silence, the taller man started to talk.

"I'm sure you've heard the whispers regarding Fairy Tail, haven't you, Sir Makarov?"

The short man reacted absentmindedly as his eyes stared into open space.

"Yeah, shocking, to be honest."

"You would've seen it coming, though."

A few flips of cards were exchanged.

"Hmm? Oh, I wasn't talking about the guild. What shocked me was his Majesty's personality."

Makarov spoke gruffly. A noticeable growth of beard was now seen on his face. A year has been enough for him to completely change quite a bit aside from the slowly growing white strands from the side. His clothing is that of an Alvarez suit due to him being a sole negotiator to the empire.

"It just didn't come to me that he would be like this. At first, I would've thought he would be more of a..." Makarov hated offending their Majesty but the man seemed to know and tolerate the words and rumors towards their king.

"Dictator, you mean..."

"Just when I'd thought of a nicer way to put it..."

An old rusty laugh came out from the taller man as he slowly amused himself at his companion's conversation.

"This isn't the good time, Sir Yajeel. You mustn't forget that I'm just a messenger here. Being on a foreign territory should remind me to think twice of my own words." Makarov reasoned.

"Ah, but you don't need to feel reserved that much since we're only just two old men without political powers. His Majesty and his shields have the authority in all of Alvarez. I doubt anyone would be kind enough to hear about our conversation." The man called, Yajeel, placed another card as Makarov did the same, continuing their game in the process.

"..."

"However, it doesn't come completely as a false rumor that our King is dictatorial."

"Would it mean that he controls all guilds in Aracitacia by force?"

"That is correct. I can't deny that as one of his sides. In truth, that's what it means to be a true king."

As soon as Yajeel finished his conversation, the game also ended well in Makarov's defeat.

"Ah, you're too good at Legenca, Sir Yajeel!" A displeased tone erupted from the former Fairy Tail guild master's voice as he lightly rattled at his consecutive loss.

However, just as their game ended, Yajeel took out the card from his opponent and gave a helpful but rather ominous reply towards him.

"The key to victory is to keep the goddess close and not lose her."

He spoke as if he was referring to something that Makarov seemed to know about. In truth, Yajeel has no knowledge of Lumen Histoire so he doesn't know if his words were really intended to warn him or just remind him of the rules of their game. Whatever his intentions maybe, he could only lock his lips in silence until a sudden roar of cheers cut to their conversation.

"My, speaking of the man, he's already back! How long has it been since he ventured out from the country?" Their course of attention finally shifted back to the plaza streets where the people lined up on the sides to greet their ruler in cheers.

Makarov and Yajeel also waited from the rooftop as they gazed down to the thousand people making way for their emperor. A moment later, a small figure finally emerged from afar as the cheers grew louder by the minute.

"He's back! Our emperor's returned!"

Emperor Spriggan is coming!"

..

..

"Well, it seems like your request will be heeded, Sir Makarov. I'm sure His Highness would like to hear about your concerns regarding Ishgar." Yajeel reassured.

"I see..."

"Rest assured. Once His Highness delivers his final decree, his shields will have no say anything on this matter. Please return to your guild once this is all over."

However, just as Makarov was about to relieve of his worries, the sight of the known emperor of Alvarez shocked him to core. His eyes shot out wide in shock and disbelief as he recognized the figure in just seconds. A heavy sense of dread and evil crept into his heart as he uttered his name in fear

"My, my... He looks well as usual. His youth is really worthy of envy, don't you think?"

"Z-Zeref?"

As if his words were heard, the Black Mage stopped in his tracks and gazed at the rooftop with an evil smile present on his face that only caused the mage to shake in fear.

..

..

..

Far from the outskirts of the capital, Natsu and Sayla also noticed the sense of death coming from the plaza as they widened their eyes in shock at the presence of the man.

"Natsu... Could it be?"

"Yeah... I smell him."

The long awaited reunion between fated enemies and brothers began to unfold.

* * *

 **A/N: And cut! Chapter stops here. Honestly, I wrote more than I thought it would in getting to this pace so it kinda overlaps my usual word count in every chapter but hell why not?**

 **Finally, the prelude of the war will soon end in two more chapters and a few more twists will be included later on to the story so look forward to it. Again, I'm sorry for this long upload since I already told you that I'm quite busy atm so, nothing I can do about it but alas, I finally got the time to work on this again along with some other stories as well. I'll try to post more often when I got the time for myself once again.**

 **Until then, wait patiently ^^**

 **See you guys on the next chapter!**

 **\- wiErD SpeCtrumz blacking out… … …**


	19. Kindred Reunion

**A/N: Sup guys, wiErD here and I've got another chapter for you all.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for my plots. Everything else is owned by Hiro Mashima. Support the official release.**

* * *

 **\- Kindred Reunion -**

The capital of Alvarez, Vistarion, is full of people. Most of them are located on the outside of the huge palace where they gathered for the return of their emperor.

Joys and celebrations were thrown on all places as they greeted their ruler with smiles and cheers. The scale of such celebration was beyond high from any grand welcoming of a ruler.

The man they call emperor, Zeref, walked silently towards his palace. His face renounced any emotion that he harbored in the last few years of his absence. He never paid attention to the people celebrating his return. His thoughts were drowned in contemplation but as he approaches his palace, a soft smile appeared on his emotionless face as if the place suddenly gave him spirit to his dull expression.

He slowly walked to the now silent halls of his palace. Unlike from the outside, the place brings an eerily silence that not even a single step could be heard a few meters away.

The design of the palace's interiors was absolutely magnificent as if a thousand professional artisans and masons worked together to build such masterpiece.

A place was indeed for a supreme ruler...

There were no soldiers stationed in every place as if it was unguarded.

The assumption was, however, proven false when a mysterious male figure approaches the Black Mage in anticipation.

"Welcome back, Your Majesty..." A cool voice was uttered from him that shattered the silent atmosphere as Zeref lightly smiled at his greeting.

"I'm back, Invel..." The man's name was spoken as he took a light bow after his response.

He had a long white hair bunched into a ponytail that hangs past his right shoulder, reaching down to his chest. Uneven spikes are also seen as it falls naturally on the sides. He had red eyes which gave a somewhat stark contrast to his hair color and his reserved personality.

His outfit is quite trim, befitting his strict personality as seen from his stern and collected voice. It comprises of a simple pair of dark dress pants and a white collared dress shirt, completely buttoned up with a blue tie hanging from the neck.

On the outside, he dons a trench coat with a high collar that protrudes around his neck, coated with dark markings to serve as a stylish look.

"... This might be a bit sudden but do me a favor and gather the twelve." Zeref continued, prompting Invel to light shook his head.

"Doing so this instant would be difficult... If I had it in me to predict your arrival in the dawn of the first spring, I would've assembled them ahead of time."

"Do you mean I'm some spring wind?" Zeref lightly raised his brow at his emissary's philosophical response.

"Wind... Black wind... No–... You're a dark storm that brings death to all." A female voice cut through their conversation while also making her appearance along with another male from the shadows.

Both Zeref and Invel looked towards the approaching duo in anticipation.

"No... He would be more of a dust storm dancing around the land of the dead...!" The other male exclaimed.

The young woman had brown eyes and wavy, blonde hair that is cropped short, reaching only at the base of her nape. A prominent feature would be its messy structure that gives it a spiky appearance though most of it are slicked back.

Her outfit consisted only a simple brown bandeau, with the upper edge embroidered with a flowery, white lace. She also wears loose, pin-striped capri pants, the ends of the legs tightening around her calves. A dark jacket is wrapped around her waist as some sort of stylish look to her apparel.

The other one, however, is a dark-skinned muscular young man of average height with large, thick, brown hair that juts out wildly in every direction. He wears a thin light gold cloth tied around his neck and upper torso, leaving his bare chest and abdomen exposed.

On the lower part features a baggy, brown-colored trousers and a pair of sandals for his footwear. He also wears a pair of large brown earrings and a golden scarf with an intricate design of an eye located on his forehead.

"Dimaria, Ajeel, you seem doing well..." Zeref responded as they made their way towards the center.

Invel, however, is already looking displeased due to the lack of formality between the two and His Majesty. His collected and reserved nature was replaced with contempt.

"Both of you, when addressing His Majesty, try to maintain a tone of respect, please..." He proceeded to scold them but the black-haired emperor simply lifted his hand before him to let it slide.

"It's fine, Invel..."

"You also seemed to be getting pretty well than last time, Your Majesty..." Another voice resounded from behind in which they all turned to see an old man wielding a long staff on his right hand.

The old man had blackish eyes and a rough shoulder-length white silver hair that is spread all over in a wavy fashion. He also had a long white mustache that reaches down to his upper torso and a short beard located above it.

His clothes contained a robe with tattered bottom edges, accompanied by an internally dark cape which had the same tattered look on the bottom edges.

His voice was gruff but it carried a strong authority that even Zeref could feel upon his reply. His aura was different from the rest as he sports a strong and powerful presence that could make a simple person fall on their knees in fear just by noticing his power.

For the people around the palace, they seemed rather not affected by it due to their own respective powers that could rival that of the Four Heavenly Gods of Ishgar.

Zeref turned to the old man with an inquisitive expression.

"Do I, August?"

The man called August approached the Black Mage with a firm resolve towards his reply.

"So... does this mean you've finally found an answer? About Ragnarok?"

"In Ishgar, they call it the 'Dragon King Festival'." Zeref reminded its other title.

"I suppose gathering the twelve would mean that you're finally getting the final say..." Ajeel exclaimed in anticipation and joy.

"Well, that would come later on the gathering once Invel managed to get everyone together... Besides, I think that someone must be waiting for me for a whole year now..." He lightly hid his dark smile before turning his gaze towards the entrance as if to expect another newcomer.

His assumption was true as two old men slowly appeared from the palace doors and slowly approached them with anticipation.

"Your Majesty! I see you're returned from your trip. I'm absolutely delighted to see you face again–Oh, and apologies..." Yajeel felt like he needed to stop and took a few steps back from the Black Mage in caution.

"Do not worry... Ankhseram seemed to be in a good mood these days." Zeref realized his sudden reaction and simply replied with reassurance.

"Oh no... But someone like me could have their soul sucked just by approaching His Majesty..."

"..."

"By the way, I hope His Majesty is informed that a messenger from Ishgar arrived in Aracitacia during his days of absence." Yajeel immediately changed the topic as he introduces Makarov who's been completely silent throughout the conversation between them.

Zeref gave a nod as Yajeel continued.

"He insists that he would like to have an audience with His Majesty so I thought I would allow him the chance to speak with you on some matters."

"Yajeel... When inviting people from other countries, you must first fill out the official documents and have five of the twelve Spriggans to agree on that matter." Invel tried to interject but Zeref simply cut him off.

"It's alright, Invel." He then looked at Makarov who seemed to react slightly on instinct upon landing his gaze towards him.

Without hesitation, the old man simply kneeled in place.

"It is a great honor to meet you, Your Majesty..." Makarov tried his best to stay composed and reserved even at the face of a great enemy.

As much as he wanted to protect the guild's secret and the invasion, he'll have to endure his façade in front of the other elite mages standing beside the Black Mage.

Zeref softened his face as he lifted his hand in the process.

"Could you all please give us a moment to speak?"

At that moment, Invel and the rest of the others present within the halls, took heed of their emperor's request and immediately walked away from the hall, leaving only the two of them alone in the process.

Silence returned to the huge palace as Makarov kept his position while trying to avert his gaze from the Black Mage as possible as he could.

"Follow me..." Zeref ordered as he began to walk further towards the center in which the former guild master followed suit.

They approached another high balcony as Zeref stopped at the edge and took a moment to gaze at the large empire before him. Makarov also stopped as well and waited for another moment to speak.

"Are you the Emperor Spriggan? Or are you Zeref?"

"I am both... To you all, I am Zeref but here in Aracitacia, I am Spriggan."

"I see... then you probably know why I've come here to you, Zeref..." His tone turned grave at the mention of his name but Zeref simply chuckled at his response.

"Of course... Why would you be here except for that one thing?"

"I've come here to negotiate."

"There's no need to say it again. Like I said, I know why you've come here. After all that incident with Tartaros, I can fully expect that Ishgar lost its only defense against Alvarez and Acnologia."

"If that is so, why haven't you started the invasion yet?"

Makarov asked, curious behind his actions.

"Why you ask? Well, I've only come to finish my terms with someone in Ishgar. My trip to that continent was merely a last errand to set things done and prepare everything for the war..."

"Errand? What are you talking about?"

"My original purpose of creating the strongest Etherious in hopes of eradicating me and Acnologia from existence."

Zeref smirked but Makarov only twitched his eyes in suspicion.

"Tartaros is already long gone. The FACE project is destroyed. The demons were defeated a long time ago, are they not?"

"I'm not talking about Tartaros or the FACE project... I'm talking about E.N.D."

The mention of an unfamiliar name suddenly got the old man opening his eyes wide.

"E.N.D?"

"Of course... I'm not surprised you didn't know it well. After all, only I and the demons of Tartaros know about E.N.D. I guess some of the Spriggans know about him as well."

"–You see... during your fight against Tartaros, the true purpose of the demons was to reawaken E.N.D from his slumber. The annihilation of magic in the whole continent would be the first step in which I would return and awoke him. But sadly, Mard Geer and the rest of the Etherious failed to destroy your guild and lost which leaves me nothing but to rethink my plans..."

"What are you talking about?!"

"Heh... It would've been the other way if not for the dragons' interference in the FACE project too. I honestly didn't expect Igneel to rush things out even though his methods already failed to raise him in a different way..."

"...Maybe just maybe, that's why he didn't want him to turn at least yet at that time..."

His words were released as if it wonders about someone else. Zeref softly looked to the skies in a deep thought, leaving Makarov almost lost within their conversation.

"I'm grateful for the dragons' help against Face otherwise, I would've regretted my indecision to prevent the disaster..." Makarov muttered grimly.

"There's no need to hide it from me. I already know its true name... Lumen Histoire–no... Fairy Heart, the magic that would change the world." He revealed.

The short man narrowed his eyes at the mention of the topic.

"How long has it been since I last saw her?" Zeref spoke absentmindedly.

"You're not getting anywhere near our First Master..."

Makarov threatened but the black-haired mage could only chuckle in response.

"Heh, there's no need for any threats... There are many ways on how to acquire that magic as of now... There's no one who can stop me now. Neither Ishgar nor Acnologia could defeat me at this time."

"Then, I take it you're not here for any negotiations then," Makarov concluded.

"Unfortunately..." He paused.

"The true Dragon King Festival will soon be imminent... The Black Mage, the Dragon King, Mankind and perhaps even the Absolute Demon. The time has come to decide who will survive and control the future..."

"You're intending to start a war?"

"No... I intend to start an annihilation."

"I won't let you lay your hands on our First!"

At that instant, Zeref quickly stretched his right arm towards Makarov that sent a powerful force that pushed the old man back. Makarov stayed on his feet as he skidded a few meters away from him but not long after noticing himself being encased in some sort of invisible barrier.

"GUH–!"

"I'm thankful for what you've done so far... Thank you for raising Natsu."

He smiled as he slowly closes his fist, indicating the tightening around the barrier as Makarov gritted his teeth at the immense pressure he was feeling around his body.

His vision was starting to collapse and his body began to succumb to the immense force pressed upon him.

However, the mention of one of his children suddenly sprung him back to consciousness as he looked at the Black Mage in contempt.

"W-What do you know about him–?!"

"You were unaware... Well, it's all for the best for you to not know anything. I'll put you out of your misery soon and then, I'll deliver your body to him."

"He'll get so mad... That he may even unleash more of that hatred inside him to find me."

Makarov could feel the gripping choke from his throat and some of his body parts as the pressure increases to kill him from the inside.

"This is the end of the line for you, boy."

But before he could even execute the old man, a sudden distortion of space appeared in between them. Zeref could only put himself in confounded surprise as flames gushed from it along with a fist that aims towards his chest.

"–!"

Without warning, he instinctively raised both his fists at the last second, dropping Makarov from his hold and took the searing blow.

The force was powerful enough to send him all the way back to the entrance of the balcony, creating a huge blast of dust cloud as he slammed towards the wall.

Makarov coughed roughly after being released from the death choke. He lay in utter disbelief as he found himself saved by a mysterious person.

The pain from the pressure lingered throughout his body but his eyes shot wide open as a familiar figure emerged from the portal.

His cloak made it hard for him to see his full feature but only the color of his hair is enough for him to recognize who that person was. The same spiky hair that he used to see around the guild.

There's no mistaking it–

"N-Natsu?"

"It's been a long while, Gramps..."

The pinkette kept his composure and glanced at him with a little emotion present on his face.

Moments later, the dust cloud where the Black Mage was into suddenly dissipated as the two gazed towards the unscathed Zeref who seemed rather pleased to see the presence of his younger brother.

"Natsu..."

"It's been a long while too, Zeref... To think that you would be emperor in this continent, I honestly didn't expect any of that." Natsu shrugged as if not caring about his current situation.

Zeref simply stood up to recompose as he dusted off some rubble of his clothes and looked at the pinkette with anticipation.

"Well now... it seems like the transformation went well. Have you come to fulfill my eternal wish? Though I wonder if you're powerful enough to kill me–"

He stopped at mid-sentence as his eyes widen in shock after seeing Natsu instantly made his way towards him in just a blink of an eye. He stared at his dark expression as he felt an immense aura emanating from his body.

This was clearly different from what he saw in him at that time.

He never saw this much hatred and rage welling up in his expression as if he was now a completely different person.

In due to his obliviousness to his powers, Zeref once again, finds himself completely open as Natsu balled up his fist before dark red flames erupted within it in a massive burst of energy that shot up a few meters into the air.

He looked at the Black Mage with a vicious look as he prepares to finish him once and for all.

"This is where you die, Zeref!"

With a shout, he thrusts his fist forward and emitted a powerful explosion that caused a few rumbles within the palace halls.

Several people from the outside were startled as they all turned towards the direction of the explosion while mages who were inside felt the immense pressure coming from the balcony as some of the Spriggan 12 began rushing towards it in action.

"An intruder?! How the fuck did they get in here?!" Ajeel exclaimed in anger.

"That doesn't matter... The explosion came from where His Majesty and the messenger are!" Dimaria spoke grimly as they tried to make their way towards the top.

"Alert the whole capital! We got an intruder!" Ajeel shouted at a nearby soldier who then proceeded to raise the alarm to the outside.

..

..

* * *

..

..

As the dust settles, Natsu stayed his focus in front of him while leaving Makarov completely shocked at the turn of events just now.

More importantly, there are many questions popping up in his head right now. Those thoughts were suddenly put back inside his head as realization kicked him back to reality and looked at the aftermath of the battle.

"N-Natsu...! W-What are you doing here?!"

Instead of answering him, Natsu ignored his question and simply narrowed his eyes towards the smoke in contempt.

The dust clears but the result of killing the Black Mage didn't go as expected as the pinkette drew his eyes wide in surprise after seeing another person right in front of him.

His fist was stopped with an open hand seemingly coated with thick ice gauntlets, absorbing the impact and negated the whole attack.

The place surrounding them resulted in a mix of frozen and scorched walls as the two looked at each other in hostility.

The man shadowed his expression until he slowly raised it towards him as he met his own red eyes to his black onyx ones, glaring towards him in the same hostility as he did from Zeref.

"Anyone who dares to try attack His Majesty will be met with grave consequences..."

He spoke as he let his free hand touch the frozen ground that created several ice spikes in front of him, prompting the pinkette to draw some distance away from the two and landing back in front of a confused Makarov.

Zeref, on the other hand, looked at his savior in relief.

"Invel..."

"Who the hell is this one?" Natsu looked at the newcomer with an uncaring face.

"Stop! That's Invel! One of the Spriggan 12 that guards the emperor. They're nothing like you faced before back in Fiore!" Makarov tried to warn the pinkette beforehand but Natsu simply smirked.

"Hoh... I see that another one of the Spriggan decided to get in my way."

"What do you mean another one?" Invel raised his brow in curiosity at his question.

"Well, one of you tried to stop me back at Caracall Island so I did a little bit of thrashing to her though unfortunately, she managed to escape but at least I got one of her subordinate to lead me here to your emperor... It seems like the rumors were not far-fetched at all."

"I see... I assume that you managed to sneak into our capital because of that."

"Pretty much... Well, it doesn't matter anymore. If you're intent on blocking my way, you'll be the first of the Spriggan to be killed by my hands."

He growled as dark red flames erupted within his body that showed his immense power that shocked both Makarov and the other two in the process.

The former guild master was left in disbelief at his child's words. He never saw Natsu this ruthless or unforgiving.

He knew that everyone went their separate ways after his disbandment of the guild but he never expected him to change this much within a year to hold such a powerful magic and dreadful aura.

As if something turned him inside but he couldn't explain it by words.

This man... He's not the same person as he is back then.

"Do you think you have the power to defeat the emperor alone by yourself? You're underestimating the power of the Spriggan 12..." Invel threatened.

"Heh, who said something about me fighting alone? What you don't know is that you're already under my control?"

Natsu smirked which earned Invel to widen his eyes in shock as he found himself unable to control his body all of a sudden.

"What? My body–cannot move...!"

Invel tried to struggle against it but later realized that his body was inflicted by a curse. Zeref noticed this and could only recognize the possessor due to the nature of the curse.

"Macro? Sayla?"

Another distortion appeared beside Natsu as two more figures appeared and revealed Sayla and Marin–the latter who is still under the influence of the same curse.

"Marin? You're from the Brandish squadron. Why are you here?!" Invel exclaimed in surprise but the mage simply hung his head in defeat as if his once energetic nature was forgotten.

"M-My deepest apologies, Lord Invel, Your Majesty..." He sincerely apologized as he pushed his hands forward and transported Invel away from the scene.

The mage could only scream in midsentence before disappearing from sight as Zeref widens in shock towards the unfolding situation.

"It looks like you got here in time. How's the diversion?" Natsu asked.

"I controlled a battalion of soldiers down the square to cause confusion among the army. But it will be not long before one of the Spriggan could step in." Sayla replied.

"That's good enough... We have all the time we need to finish this."

"Sayla... I didn't expect you to be alive at this point. I thought you died along with the others back at Tartaros."

Zeref stated without any regard for his safety as his interest landed on the two demons in curiosity.

Sayla was shocked at the appearance of their maker but quickly set aside her thoughts and gazed at him in contempt.

"My heart led me to follow Natsu. And I intend to help him to destroy you once and for all!"

Hearing her defying nature, the Black Mage was taken once again by surprise. This is not the response he was expecting to the demon. After all, all of them had a desire to return to him in fulfilling his wish.

He never saw an Etherious to scorn him... or even rebel against him. The initial instinct to destroy him which every creation he had was still there though in a different way towards the demon girl.

Pondering his thoughts, it didn't take him to realize everything.

"I see... So that's how it is... I never really anticipated that you of all people would actually accept her even though she inflicted much pain to your guild, Natsu."

A devious smile was plastered on his face as he looked at the pinkette in interest.

"–Tell me, why you would now align to the dark guild that almost destroyed magic in the whole continent?"

"My business is none of yours. You will die here right now, Zeref!"

"I wonder about that..."

As Natsu tries to bring in another attack against him, he widens his eyes in surprise as he was suddenly pushed back with an invisible force away from the Black Mage.

"Wha–"

"You're thinking too highly of yourself to take on Your Majesty with only a few comrades..."

A gruff voice was uttered from open space as a figure reveals itself in front of Zeref with a staff at hand.

Makarov widens his eyes in shock at the appearance of the figure and Natsu and Sayla could instantly feel an immense power emanating from him.

"You took your time, August..." Zeref spoke in displeasure.

"Apologies, Your Majesty... The situation outside brought most of our attention away from you. I managed to quell down the confusion and the rest are assessing the situation though I suspect that it was just a mere control of our troops by some curse so I figured that the perpetrator is among them."

August replied as he looked at Natsu and Sayla with glaring eyes.

An immense power was immediately being released from his body as they saw his aura grow stronger.

"Well aren't you a strong one?" Natsu prepares to attack but Makarov's stern warning held him down.

"Stop! Don't engage him! He's not like the other Spriggan! His power exceeds that of Zeref himself!"

"What?!"

"Hmph!" It was then August took advantage of the opening as he wielded his staff and created a massive wind storm within the group.

Powerful gales pushed the group almost to the ledge with Sayla holding Makarov with her curse along with Marin while Natsu shielded his eyes from the intense howling blast. He smirked as he emitted flames from his foot to propel himself forward, easily overcoming the powerful wind.

August shot his eyes wide and created a massive barrier to prevent him from getting closer.

"Get real!" Natsu slammed his fist towards the barrier, easily breaking it though he was taken by surprise as another spell was cast from the elder Spriggan.

"Too immature to learn the tactics of a real fight... You're nothing to me, demon."

August scolded as he created a magic circle and quickly attached it to Natsu's chest.

"What the–"

 **"Yakuma's Mantra of Absolute Destruction!"**

The magic circle glowed bright, blinding the whole place as Sayla tried to push herself towards the pinkette until a massive explosion engulfed his whole figure.

"Natsu!"

The force blew everything back and the balcony shook violently against the shockwaves as the supporting structure begins to crack from the intense exchange of magic powers in its vicinity.

Makarov held his ground as he shielded his eyes from the blast until it finally receded. Worry took over his expression as he saw Natsu full of injuries all over his body.

The blast could've killed anyone even someone who's at the same level as the Four Heavenly Gods but seeing the pinkette getting himself conscious while taking the blast at point-range is actually astounding.

"Kuh―"

Blood spurt out from his mouth as he drew some distance away from August and landed back at Sayla who could only look in horror of his injuries.

This is the first time he actually took some real damage. To have someone who could finally damage him is heart-racing but at the same time, made him frustrated.

"Surprised to still see you in one piece... No one has ever come back alive after taking hit by one of the Gods' magic." August praised with a reserved tone in his voice.

"Heh, I guess I'm more than what you'd expect." Natsu simply smirked.

"But as of now, your body suffered great wounds. Do you still intend to go after His Majesty?"

"Hmph... I wonder about that. Do you still think that I haven't touched you yet?"

"Hmph―Guh...!"

Natsu smirked as a spray of blood gushed from August's body, shocking him after noticing a diagonal cut from his left shoulder towards his chest. It wasn't a deep cut but it was enough to make him bleed as August was left with a surprised look on his face.

"Hmph, I guess you're not as tough as Gramps suspected you to be... It seems like your body is not that durable for something like this―"

August looked in shock as he saw the pinkette raising one of his hands that transformed into demon claws. Blood still trickles at the edges from where he landed his unexpected attack on his body.

Makarov could only widen in disbelief towards the transformation.

 _'W-What... what the hell is that?'_

His eyes focused on the demon claw that replaced the pinkette's arms. A menacing aura emanates from his body along with the dark red flames that burn everything around its vicinity.

Markings of unknown origin are seen on his arms and his face. His eyes dyed in crimson along with his hair that washed its light color away.

There was no mercy written in the pinkette's actions. He intends to cut him down without any remorse.

A smirk that he sees in him is but a smile of a killer.

Tremble and fear occupied his body as he continued to watch his child becoming something more sinister than an actual demon.

He can't even utter words around his transformation as if he was left there, unable to do anything and left to bear witness to his now vicious and malevolent nature.

Wounds on his body healed in an instant as if the attack from earlier was meant nothing for him.

August, on the other hand, stood defiant against the odds as he watched the dragonslayer release more of his power.

Zeref could only watch in pure astonishment of his improvement but at the same time surprised to see his powerful mage easily getting slashed as well.

He noticed the amount of power his younger brother has and the curse that he bestowed on his awakening.

This could very well be the key in his long-time unfulfilled wish.

"Don't underestimate the power of the Spriggan 12..."

August soon began to release the same amount of power against his opponent as swirling clouds from above circled around him.

Thunder and lightning followed soon after and the once bright weather was turned into a storm in just from a mage's wrath.

"Oh, getting serious now, aren't we?"

"Natsu! I'm detecting more powerful mages headed our way! They're trying to block our escape from all directions!"

Sayla's voice cut through his train of thought, prompting him to remember their original mission and looked back at his companion and to the almost forgotten Makarov who is still watching in clear awe and disbelief from their fight.

"Tch, I guess there's no helping it..."

Natsu swiped his hands downward as a stream of fire cut through the ground, cutting the side of the balcony from where they stand to where August and Zeref were standing.

The balcony fell at high speed but Natsu already grabbed Makarov by hand and jumped away towards the portal from Marin's magic along with Sayla.

The two watched as their intruders disappeared in sight and before the soldiers and other Spriggans came to the scene.

The battle was already long over.

Silence returned to the atmosphere as Zeref gazed over to the forest with an unsatisfied look on his face.

"I see that the plan worked out fine this time..." August spoke.

"It is still not enough..."

Zeref turned away to walk back at the palace with the old mage following him suit.

"―Although he managed to attain the curse, there's still something missing."

"Hmm... For him to actually break the barrier of the Seven Shields of Yakuma and inflict injury on my chest, I see that he's already enough for a contender in this war."

August spoke as his chest soon began to heal in place, leaving only a huge scar and a few dried patch of blood from his clothes as he walked alongside Zeref.

"That's not what I have in mind. He still had lingering ties with his old guild. If he managed to finally detach those ties from him, he might be able to defeat Acnologia and attain the Absolute Demon."

"Then I guess, we should rethink our strategy in this war, Your Majesty."

"Soon..."

"How long are you gonna keep standing there, Invel... If I had known that you are near His Majesty, I wouldn't get myself interfering their reunion."

August looked at the corner of the palace hall as Invel slowly appeared from the shadows completely fine.

"...Your Majesty wanted to have a bit of time with his younger brother. I don't intend to go against his request." Invel replied.

"―Which almost left him unguarded and in danger from the hands of E.N.D." He glared with displeasure as they began to feel his power rushing through his words against the Winter General.

"It's fine, August... Natsu wouldn't have enough time to destroy me at this point unless he deals with Acnologia first. Although I'm quite surprised to see one of the Nine Demon Gates with him."

"Her curse is something to be reckoned with. I think it's potent enough to put any Spriggan under her control if left underestimated." Invel voiced out.

"Oi oi oi! Where are the intruders?!"

Cutting through their moment of talk to each other, Ajeel came rushing with an angered look on his face.

He stomped furiously along with a few soldiers behind him as they approach the emperor.

"How many times do I have to remind you of your tone of voice when speaking His Majesty?" Invel looked at the desert mage in contempt.

"I don't give a fuck about your pleasantries, Invel. Those bastards just controlled a bunch of our men and we've no choice but to kill them. They're gonna pay... Oh, they're gonna fucking pay!"

Invel was about to reprimand him of his foul words until Zeref cut him off again.

"The escape had just started. Send Ajeel to chase the pursuers. I want all the assembly of the twelve to be done immediately."

"ABOUT FUCKING TIME!" Ajeel disappeared into a cloud of dust as the rest of the members departed for the meeting.

"August, I want you to tag along with him as well... It would take more than one Spriggan to actually fight him on an equal level. Rahkeid and Irene are not around at the moment so I'd like to have all twelve to be in one piece before the war."

"As you wish, Your Majesty." And with that, he bowed before disappearing into thin air, leaving Zeref alone with a couple of soldiers escorting him down the palace.

"Just how much further are you going to stand against me, Natsu?"

..

..

* * *

..

..

The forest outside Vistarion is thick with large trees and branches that even light could barely reach to the ground.

Flickering rays moved along the smooth winds as time passed by. Leaves swayed majestically until it was interrupted by a couple of footsteps resounding at a distance.

Natsu and Sayla managed to get themselves away from the capital in mere minutes after the whole ordeal against Zeref. With Marin still in control and Makarov on their side, it seems the mission went pretty well.

They kept their running pace for a while until stopping for a moment to rest. Sayla had Makarov sit near a large stone slab located beside them.

The latter seemed to offer no such hesitation on her offer but the surprised expression remained intact throughout the escape.

"Did we lose them?"

The girl turned to her other companion who was gazing his eyes back at the looming capital behind them.

"Somehow... I don't sense anyone around us."

"Will you fucking let me go already?! Had you done enough to use me to even defy my emperor?!"

Breaking their conversation was Marin who was still under the influence of Sayla's curse.

His face strained in disdain and anger, mainly towards the two whom he was forced to bid his will to due to being under their control.

He had enough for their devious acts and helping them infiltrate Vistarion. And injuring His Majesty is just too much for him.

A loyal servant of the country. He holds as much respect to his comrades despite his twisted personality.

However, his pity couldn't even reach to the other two as Natsu faced him with a dark look.

"Do you still think you can go back being one of them after all that? You helped in the attack so that makes you a traitor..." He stated.

"They wouldn't do that–"

"If I hadn't gone in the way of taking that hit, you would've been dead with us by now..."

The captive mage was left shocked and disoriented. His words against him shot like a painful bullet to his heart.

His will crumbles alongside his urge to resist them. He knelt like a broken puppet cut out from its strings as he wallows in despair.

Natsu doesn't pity him.

He would use any methods necessary to reach his goal and even would go as far as crushing his opponent's will in order to do so. Unaware of him, Makarov lay watching them in surprise after the whole predicament.

Just as he witnessed back during his encounter with him back at the capital, he's a completely different person and doesn't look like that of his old energetic self a year ago.

"Let's go... We'll never know when they're coming for us. We're still in enemy territory so I'd like to move far away back to the shore as possible."

Natsu ignored the worried look and went over to him who was still left dumbfounded throughout the situation.

"Just one more push, Gramps... You'll make it back home."

Makarov would've taken his hand without hesitation if not for his current self. He knew he was saved by him but the way he now seems wrong.

"A-Ah... Y-Yeah..."

Reluctantly letting his free hand onto his, Natsu helped him stand up while Sayla observed their surroundings for any hostiles.

It was then, his curiosity got better of his instinct to get out of the country alive and asked the pinkette afterward.

"W-Wait a minute! I have so many questions to ask! What are you doing here in Aracitacia?"

"There's little time to explain myself... For now, you should focus on getting back to Ishgar." He replied but this time, it was devoid of any good expression.

He couldn't explain it but for some reason, he felt that Natsu was trying to avoid him.

"I know that... More importantly, why do you have a member of Tartaros with you? Didn't they try to kill us once?"

He looked at his companion with a slight caution.

The horns located on her head made him recognize her as part of the same dark guild that attempted to wipe out all of magic in Ishgar. To actually see her alongside with Natsu is somehow suspicious.

However, he could not see anything vicious behind the woman's actions. Rather he can't sense any malicious intent from her which then again, confused him at first.

Sayla, on the other hand, was unsure of how to respond since this is the first time she got an opportunity to talk with one of Natsu's friends or family in such a nonviolent situation. She could only look at the pinkette for help who simply sighed before speaking.

"Yes, she did... but she's with me now. I can assure you that she meant no harm on us this time."

"I-I see... That's quite a shock." Makarov loosened his guard on her and somehow smiled in relief.

"I'm not sure of what's going on but I can tell that you two somehow had your own journey way back after the disbandment." He lightly bowed.

Sayla could only nod lightly from his words while Natsu snorted at his reply as he looked away.

However, the old man's thoughts quickly changed on a new subject.

"Anyway, why are you here, Natsu? How did you find out about my plan of negotiating with Alvarez?" He asked.

"Master Warrod told me everything after your disbandment. I know everything about the Western continent, Lumen Histoire and your history with it."

"I see... So you knew." He frowned.

"It seems so but that's not the case here anymore. You need to go back to Fairy Tail, Gramps. Everyone is waiting for you."

"E-Eh? Everyone? Did they knew?"

"No, and I don't plan to ask about it. My mission is to bring you back from here. That's all."

"Just wait a second, Natsu? Why are you talking like you're not going back with me?"

"I got something to do here first. And that involves Zeref himself. It's better that you don't know anything than this. Some secrets are just meant to be kept hidden even if they're part of the family―Well, at least once part of it..."

He shook his head as he looked at the capital and started walking towards it.

Makarov was still confused about him and could not help but hold him back.

"Wait, Natsu... Zeref mentioned me about you. What did he mean by all of that?" His tone became serious and grave but Natsu kept silent for a moment before speaking.

"Like I said, it's better that you don't know."

He let go of his hand from his hold and started to walk away until―

"WATCH OUT!" A shout came from Sayla as the ground beneath them suddenly erupted into a dust explosion, engulfing the trio within its blast.

There was little time to prepare against the unknown attack as Natsu stood his ground with his left arm raised to his face to protect himself from the dust while Sayla tried to recover her composure a few meters away.

Makarov seemed to recover as well but his eyes were already on alert as he looked over to the dust cloud just a few meters away from them.

Natsu quickly rushed to Sayla as he helped her stand up while also looking at the smoke with a hostile look. His expression immediately turned murderous due to sensing another powerful mage hidden behind that smoke.

"Hoh, so you managed to survive that, huh?" A voice laced with condescended tone resounded from the dust cloud.

"Show yourself!" Sayla shouted and used Marin to fight against his will which only earned him hatred towards them.

"Hey now... Isn't it pretty rude for someone to talk like that on their first encounter? I guess you Ishgarians don't have any manners."

"T-That voice... It couldn't be–"

Makarov stuttered as soon as the dust settled and revealed their assailant.

"Ajeel!"

"Oi, Makarov... You leavin' already? Why not stay for quite a while? You still haven't bought any souvenirs from the trip." Ajeel spoke.

On the other hand, Natsu and Sayla steeled themselves beside each other as they looked cautiously at the Spriggan with dead serious eyes.

"How did you get past our senses?"

"Sand... It always tells you about the land. I can sense everything from beyond our country's borders."

He lifted his hand as sand particles moved along with it which gave them hints on the nature of his magic.

"Sand Magic, huh?"

"L-Lord Ajeel! T-Thank goodness you've arrived!"

"Oh, Marin... I almost forgot about you... It seems like you're already chosen a side now." Ajeel turned towards the subordinate with vicious eyes.

"N-No! It's not what you think! I'm being controlled!"

"Well, don't you worry... I'll take you back once I'm done with these shits for making a mess out of our country."

He then returned his gaze to the other three with the same expression.

Surges of magical power erupted from his body, prompting the other two demons to retaliate with the same aura.

Makarov could already feel the chill down his spine as he looked at the two releasing the same power as Ajeel's.

Although he already witnessed it quite a while back, his astonishment towards Natsu's development hasn't gone down after feeling the pressure around him.

He could even be at par with Gildarts–no... He might be even more than that. He wondered just where did he accumulated such power within just a year. Not to mention the dreaded aura that is emitting from it.

"Hoh? Two against one? I guess that's fair enough. You two needed it anyways."

Ajeel mocked but Natsu and Sayla stood their ground unfazed.

"You might want to take a step back, Gramps..." Natsu warned in which surprised him but later heeded his request and took a distance away as they confronted him.

Both opponents stood in a fair distance as more of their power is being released. Gales of wind blasted through every direction that blew the trees violently.

And in just a moment, the surges disappeared in an instant.

The immense pressure was quickly dissipated but the concentrated focus between enemies was already set.

After a few seconds of momentary silence, Natsu and Sayla dashed towards Ajeel who was also doing the same as if wanting to collide their attacks at the center.

"HAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Natsu delivered his first attack with a flaming fist in which Ajeel met with the same pattern as both fists collided with each other.

Fire and sand dispersed in all directions but the force was too much for Ajeel to take as he forced to draw back his fist and evade the attack by dashing backward.

The dragonslayer gave three series of punches against him but Ajeel skilfully dodged every fist aimed at his vital points and started to gain more distance.

"Die!"

 **"Sand Burrow Pit!"**

Putting his hands down on the ground, Ajeel turned the land around Natsu into the sand as the latter got himself immobile in the process.

The sand quickly circled around the center, dragging the pinkette down to bury him whole.

"The sand is gripping onto me..."

"Heh, this is no ordinary sand. It swallows every mage it could find and crush them so hard that there won't be anything to resurface once it's done..."

"–Are you really sure you're that powerful to even stand up against August. Man, I thought it would be interesting if you could at least give me some challenge."

Natsu only smirked at his words as he looked at him with confidence.

"Don't think for a second that you got the upper hand... Cause if you do, you won't even realize it once you got your guard down for a moment."

"Heh! Right back at ya!"

Ajeel prepared a sand javelin on his hand and began to aim it to the dragonslayer. Natsu stayed in his position for a quick moment before huge flames erupted around the sand burrow, shocking the Sand mage.

The force was strong enough to put him on the defensive as he looked towards the raging flames.

"What?!"

The flames soon receded, leaving a burnt ground along with scorched plants and trees. The sight of the pinkette was already long gone.

"H-He evaporated the sand..."

At that moment, he traced his focus to his left, lifting his sand spear to block a flaming fist aimed towards his face.

"Kuh–You're one annoying brat!"

Pushing against him with much greater force, Ajeel soon clasped both his hands together as soon as he gained distance from the pinkette.

 **"Ant Lion Sinking Bite!"**

Without stopping, Natsu leaped away from the ground as two giant jaws made of sand erupted from underneath and tried to bite him down. He kept himself in the air as he poured out flames on his hand to dodge more sand jaws under him.

Putting himself in mid-air, Natsu soon locked his eyes towards Ajeel with a murderous look.

 **"Demonic Fire Dragon's Roar!"**

With brief inhalation of air inside his lungs, Natsu brought a huge stream of flames towards the sand mage in retaliation.

The wave was huge enough to incinerate almost half of everything in its direction. Even dodging at this range would be too impossible.

Ajeel smirked deviously as if the flames did not threaten him.

"It's useless..."

He stood in defiance as the flames engulfed him completely along with the trees around him. The incineration went on for a few seconds until it died down, leaving only a huge burnt wasteland in front of the pinkette.

Natsu landed back on his feet but not until he cast a side glance over to the corner of his eyes where he saw Ajeel emerging his figure from the sand.

"I see... I guess having that type of magic makes it a bit convenient for getting out of impossible situations." Natsu offered a voice of praise of his opponent's magic, earning the other a somewhat opposite reaction.

"Heh... what's this? Isn't it a bit too early for you to say something like that? While I like having praises from my comrades, I don't like it when someone who's an enemy is praising me in that kind of tone, especially to someone as weak as you."

He glared with a furious spat but the dragonslayer remained silent and offered no comeback.

"Hoh? Did that piss you off? Well, there's more where that came from."

"Yeah, yeah... It really pisses me off when I see someone with a loud mouth. If we're all here for just a talk, maybe I should finish this fight once and for all." Natsu sighed uncaringly.

"You know what, you're the most annoying shit I've ever met until now. You think you're so tough that you talk high and mighty and underestimate me. Keep talking like that then I might just bury you and your little friends to the deepest pits of hell!"

"Well, I don't need to go out against someone like you... After all, this battle has already been decided from the start.

"Huh?! What the hell are you talking about–"

It was then, Ajeel realized what he meant and glanced back to see Sayla putting her hand towards him as if to using her own curse to control him.

"Shit–!"

He was never given the time to retaliate as his body finally lost its will to her curse and eventually stopped moving despite wanting to.

Natsu finally stood up straight and looked at the confused mage in front of him.

"Curses... So this is what it feels like."

Ajeel hissed underneath his breath at his own carelessness.

"If there's one thing that could decide a battle, it would be a power to fully control one's enemy. This guy fell on the same thing because he was careless. I guess, you also fell from this trick because of your own carelessness." Natsu explained.

"This battle is over, spriggan... You were foolish to take on the two of us on your own." Sayla spoke as she lifted her hand to control his hand in grabbing a dagger from his back and pointed it on his neck.

However, Ajeel could only smirk as he looked at them with evil eyes.

"Heh, foolish, you say? I wonder who's more foolish between us."

"!"

Shock dawned on the duo's faces as they noticed a hundred sand spikes suddenly appearing from above. They never noticed the attack as Ajeel laughed evilly and decided to thrust all the spikes down to them.

"YOU FELL FOR IT!"

 **"Ant Lion Impaling Spikes!"**

At the same time, multiple sand spikes rained down on the two as Natsu quickly held Sayla down while turning his back to protect from the deadly rain.

Scales formed around his body to increase its toughness against the impalement. A couple of stabs went through his back.

"Natsu!" Sayla called out in worry.

"Don't worry... This is nothing to me..."

He reassured as he began to transform some of his body into its draconic form. Enhancing his body properties, he was able to withstand the spikes raining down on him. Yet, it didn't relieve the demon girl of her concern for the dragonslayer.

Despite his words, she couldn't help it as seeing the disgruntled look on his face due to the continuous bombardment of spikes down on him to shield her from it.

Moments later, the attack subsided as Natsu slowly emerged from the sand with his right hand now transformed into a claw. His clothes were tattered that showed the left half of his body in a state of drastic transformation.

Dark red scales replaced his human body and a miniature dragon wing, similar to his late dragon parent is seen on his back. His face also underwent changes as well as his left eye changed that of a red pointed pupil which is completely different from his other transformations.

Even Sayla witnessed it for the first time and could only widen in shock and disbelief at his sudden transformation.

Along with them was a copy of Ajeel who also suffered from the deadly rain. His body soon turned to sand, indicating that the one Sayla controlled was a fake.

On the other hand, Makarov recovered from the onslaught as he struggled to stand up after getting caught in the blast. It also didn't take long for him to see the transformation as well which left him speechless.

"Well now, this is something I don't see every day... I had my share of seeing monsters but yours probably would be just as nasty as the ones that often lose their reasoning after taking such transformations and abandoning their humanity."

Ajeel reappeared from the tree branch along with Marin who is now free of the curse. It would seem like Sayla's curse was unbound from him after having her focus disrupted during the fight.

Natsu slowly gazed towards them with a silent but deadly look as if something clicked inside that made him more serious than ever towards this fight.

"I like that face... You think you're so tough now after showing some scales up your sleeve. Remember, you're at a disadvantage here since this is my territory." Ajeel mocked.

"That's right! I'm gonna return all the humiliation you've put me, you lowlives!"

Marin shouted in anger as he began to showcase his magic against the two. It would seem his rage finally let loose after being freed, judging from his expression.

Ajeel could only look at him in contempt.

"Marin, what do you think you're doing?"

"Isn't it obvious? I want payback for all they've done to me!"

He spat, not putting himself aware that he was talking to one of his higher-ups. Ajeel's joyous mood suddenly receded in an instant and looked at him with a grave tone.

"Since when did you have the audacity to raise your voice to one of your superiors?"

"I–I didn't mean... I was just–I was just thinking how it would be better if we take them both, don't you think?"

He seemed to realize his position after hearing his menacing tone and tried to appease in response.

"Hmm... That would be too much of a hassle..."

"Eh?"

 **STAB* SPURT** ― *****

Without any warning, Marin could only stay in mild surprise as soon as he heard a stabbing sound towards his heart.

His eyes slowly wandered towards it where he saw Ajeel's hand holding some sort of sand spike in it.

Disbelief went over to him as he looked back at his comrade with a look that is only seen in the sign of betrayal.

"There's no need for you here, Marin..."

He pushed his hand further as blood gushed out from his wound, tainting his clothes in the same color. The Spatial mage could only look in utter despair as his body lost all its strength and almost fell to the ground if not for the spike that still hangs on his chest.

Blood also poured out slowly from his lips as his eyes began to turn weak and lose its color. The phantom pain on his chest was instant which only left him in a few seconds to stay conscious to the real world.

"W-W-Why...?"

Mustering the last of his strength, he could only utter a question behind his actions.

"Do you still think that you're part of the empire? You were already a traitor the moment you surrendered your will to the enemy. I bet Brandish abandoned you for the same reason back in the island. The only thing you'll find in all of this is dying as a traitor."

He then quickly drew back his spike from his chest as Marin fell down from the tree. His body landed down on the cold hard ground like a ragdoll as the last bits of his lifeforce finally simmered out.

Makarov could only look in shock before staring at Ajeel with an angered look on his face.

"He was your comrade! Why would you do something like that?!"

"Comrades, you say? He was nothing but a slave for us which we would dispose of in the coming war. If one betrays his master, a punishable death would be the best option for him. We've no need of traitors among our ranks."

"You heartless bastard―"

"Oi, oi, oi! Shouldn't you be more worried about yourselves? Because at this rate, you're not getting out of this place anytime soon."

Makarov was about to speak until he was cut off by Natsu.

His face masked in darkness. His aura is somewhat different from what it was before. Sayla even noticed the change of his power as the pinkette walked towards the sand mage in silence.

"Hoh? It seems like you've finally gotten a bit serious now, eh? To tell you the truth, I want to see the power of the man whom our emperor views as a threat to both the empire and Acnologia."

Ajeel came down from the branch to confront his opponent.

"Well then, shall I show you?"

Natsu muttered, his voice coated in a dark tone that only personified the anger welling up inside him.

"Huh?"

 **"Because this will be the last time, you'll ever get to see in your whole life."**

With those words spoken through the air, a sudden burst of magic was felt around the dragonslayer. Massive shockwaves shook the ground with an intense force that even Makarov and Saya were pushed back despite their strength to stand firm.

The ground rumbled tremendously and Ajeel could look around in disbelief at the sudden change of pressure towards the pinkette.

"W-What the hell is this!?"

The transformed part of the dragonslayer's body underwent more changes as the scales went more dark and crimson.

Flames shot up in the air like a giant hellfire as several people from the distance saw its destructive force. Even Zeref could feel the power coming from the pinkette himself.

A smirk went over his lips as he saw its powerful magic for the first time. A power now fueled in anger and rage like the demon he created as the most powerful Etherious.

"It has begun..."

..

..

* * *

..

..

Going back at the forest, Natsu's untouched right part soon began to change as well in small amounts. His right eye now also dons the same red-pointed pupil as that of his left, his right hand now also succumbed to the draconic transformation and two pointed horns of his demonic origin became visible to the eyes of many.

Makarov could only stand in pure horror of the sight of his now monstrous form.

His back still donned the left wing but the majority of his back is transformed into dragon scales. Canines on his teeth became more pointed and sharp, looking like a beast from the depths of hell.

The once spiked hair that shows its natural color is barely visible due to the crimson color of the scales and also the flames that danced around his figure.

His feet both turned into dragon claws as well though some of his body and his face still remained unturned from the transformation, indicating the remaining shred of his human self.

Natsu shook his head towards his hands and clenched it to marvel at his new self.

 **"Fire Dragon Etherious Form."**

Ajeel still couldn't believe what just happened as he found himself unable to move from his position.

This is the first time he saw something demonic in his life. The amount of power felt in his body is beyond comprehension.

The only person he would feel the same sensation is Acnologia but this person seemed to have the same intimidating power as him. If not, maybe even higher.

It was then he realized...

He's frightened.

Absurd as it is, this is the first time he felt scared in front of someone.

Him? A member of the elite Spriggan is scared of someone like him?

Perhaps the main reason is behind his dark expression. There is not by a shred of pity or mercy in his eyes. Only the expression of murder and relentless anger could be seen in the pinkette's eyes.

"W-Who the hell are you?!"

Natsu didn't speak and instead, he slowly walked towards him.

"Kuh–Don't you underestimate me―"

The next few seconds shocked him completely. His mind didn't even process the whole situation.

In those brief moments of his words being uttered in the air, a swift strike towards him was already in place.

A piercing sound went in a flash in his ears as his eyes saw the pinkette up close who had his right hand dug deep into his abdomen.

A cough of blood came after afterward as soon as Natsu drew back his hand, also taking instantly all of his strength from his body.

Ajeel fell down with a thud, feeling the coldness of the ground to his now cold body which was drowned in the pool of his own blood. The expression on his face was still evident as he began to feel the phantom pain on his stomach.

"H-H-How―"

"I told you, this is the last time, you'll ever see in your life."

His face masked with evil nature that even Makarov couldn't tell apart if he's an ally or not. Beside him was Sayla who began to witness his new form in shock.

The battle ended in an instant.

Natsu turned away from the scene and returned back to the two with an emotionless face but a familiar voice soon got him out of his dark expression while the other two also looked in shock at the sudden appearance of another group who also held witness to the pinkette's cold-blooded battle.

The group stood in shock at the presence of two dead men around the area but their expression turned into disbelief towards their old friend whose features are hardly even recognizable to what they saw in him a few years ago.

Only the voice of a distraught blue-haired girl brought the pinkette back to his senses.

"N―Natsu-san...?"

* * *

 **A/N: And there goes the chapter. Hope you like it! Things got a bit out of hand and Natsu finally showed his true colors but at the same time, he's now slowly being consumed by his own darkness.**

 **Yes, there's a tendency for him to fall. Even with the whole END thing a few chapters back, I think that there's no guaranteed safety to Natsu being able to stay himself after all that ordeal with Zeref and his growing powers. There's bound to be a tipping point where you just can't control everything.**

 **Plus, this is a gift for all you guys who wanted to see Natsu go on full power (Not entirely. Hehe) because of the lackluster of the END showcasing in the manga. Seriously, I'm pissed that Mashima had to halt the transformation because Erza stepped in.**

 **FFS, he already lost himself to reason. So why a few words are better against the unstoppable instinct to seek out the one who created him? Yeah, I know the nakama shit going around but still, that's not a valid reason to wrap it like that.**

 **That's just my opinion though, I still love Fairy Tail but not in the way it was before because of the recent chapters. I still like to see the end of it and it's really up to Mashima to either redeem this with Acnologia or some Ankhseram plot twist or just seal the deal with the same formula he had with all the arcs in this series, except for Tartaros. (That one is the best for me. :D)**

 **Either way, what do you guys think in this chapter? OP or super OP? I'm sorry for the late updates since I still had other stories needed the same update so hang on a bit. I'll finish my loose ends in school and enjoy Christmas where I can devote my time writing again.**

 **Until then, patience.**

 **\- The wiErDos send their regards -**


	20. Battle of Vistarion

**A/N: Sup guys, wiErD here and I've got another chapter for you all.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for my plots. Everything else is owned by Hiro Mashima. Support the official release.**

* * *

 **\- The Battle of Vistarion -**

Silence and disbelief went over to the arriving group. Their expressions showed nothing but fear and shock towards the horrifying scene. Two bodies lay on different locations not far from each other; both sustaining fatal blows which simply marks an instant death.

Wendy never saw blood in her entire life―rather, she was not accustomed to withstanding the sight of blood in front of her. Just the mere thought of seeing someone died in a brutal way sends her in a huge amount of shock. Her eyes traced to the seemingly killer whom she looks up to as her big brother. It was for a moment, she managed to take a look at his own features―now turned into something sinister than that of a human.

Half of his body now succumbed to the dragonification which their foster parents have sought to prevent. A single wing is seen attached to his back, seemingly identical to his own deceased dragon parent and a face both adorning human and dragon alike replaced his once warm smile. Black markings covered his remaining human self and his eyes glowed crimson which was fully vicious as if they're like a glare from the darkness.

A definition of a monster.

―Yet she couldn't bring herself to call him like that so she simply stuttered in the spot.

"N-Natsu?"

She called out. There was no response but she noticed that there was a slight jerk on his body after hearing her voice.

He glanced around slowly, looking just as surprised at seeing the people he doesn't want to see.

They stood there in a fair distance, recognizing all of their faces which made him stop his rampage and receded his own power back to his body. The flames that surrounded him vanished into thin air but the transformation remained intact.

It didn't take long for the others to notice his own appearance as well.

"Natsu? Is that...you?!" Erza managed, almost unable to recognize him after seeing his half-transformation.

"W-What happened to you?" Lucy came in along with a stutter, her voice cracking up due to the shock. Gray and Mest simply drew their disbelieving looks over to the pinkette as well, specifically towards the two dead men.

Natsu didn't respond and could only stand in his own spot without moving or saying anything towards the situation. He turned his head away and set his gaze momentarily on his feet, thinking―

―Of all the times they had to appear again, it would be in this kind of situation.

...

On the other hand, Happy lay floating beside his friends, looking in pure shock of the horrid scene before him. The blood that was on his partner's hand instantly made him assume that he did all this. His body froze on the spot, trembling in fear towards him.

Natsu was never a killer in his eyes yet the sight betrayed him. The once calm and caring dragonslayer whom he viewed as his best friend is now nothing but a murderer. He would never go beyond such actions even if it meant for him to lose his temper against his opponents but...

...now, it's all clear.

In his eyes, Natsu is a different person.

Several of his friends who noticed his distraught expression showed signs of worry. They knew how he was close to the pinkette and seeing how he changed in the last several months would only showcase such dismay.

"Natsu, you―"

A burst of anger erupted from Gray but he immediately halted his words, disbelieving at his actions.

"Natsu! What the hell did you do?!" Erza shouted after snapping back to her senses in seeing his monstrous form. The sight merely filled her with indignation.

"What's it look like? I killed them. Easy as that." He replied without any means of looking straight at them in the eye. His voice carried a dark tone as if thinking his actions are nothing but merely on a whim.

The group was taken aback by his reply just now which prompted the redhead to summon her sword from her right hand in fury.

"How could you say that so casually?! Even though he's your enemy!"

"That's my answer... He was an enemy so I had to eliminate him." He answered without any means of looking at the gravity of his actions.

"Why you―"

"That's enough!" This time, Makarov's voice cut through the conversation, immediately killing off the growing hostility between his children as he emerged from the bush with Sayla guarding behind him.

"M-Master?!" The others looked both in surprise and little of joy as soon as they saw him approaching the group.

Both sides were completely focused on each other that they didn't even notice the guild master that they were supposed to rescue was just near them. Erza and the others faltered on their words towards the pinkette and focused their concern over to the short old man.

"Master, are you alright?!" The scarlet knight rushed to his side while the others soon followed.

Natsu took a step back along with Sayla patiently observing their reunion.

The heavy atmosphere was momentarily forgotten and the group's faces were washed in pure joy at the appearance of their master whom they thought disappeared in hopes of saving them from an upcoming invasion.

"Thank goodness, you're alright, Master! Everyone's been looking for you!" Lucy started with tears coming out from her eyes.

"I'm sorry, everyone. I know this is not the right time to discuss things but―" He wanted to explain until they cut him off in reassurance.

"It's alright, Master. We all knew... We understood why you decided to disband the whole guild and went missing after all this time."

"But even that, I caused a lot of suffering to all of you."

"We told you, it's fine now. It matters that we're all back together. Fairy Tail is coming back."

"So I've heard. So that means you've learned that Mest has been keeping all of you in full circle all this time." He replied, looking at the undercover mage in anticipation.

"It seems so. I'm glad you're not hurt. We all went here to rescue you." Erza stated.

"But why are you out here, Master?" The others asked in confusion.

As soon as they started asking, Makarov donned a rather dispirited look on his face.

"The negotiation failed." A couple of eyes widened in shock.

"The negotiation... failed?" Makarov could only nod in confirmation to their words.

"The plan to stall the invasion against Ishgar cannot be prevented. The Alvarez empire never intended for any negotiation in the first place. I was hoping that they would at least take the bait and buy more time for the Council to build back its place again..." He paused.

"...I was naïve to think about it. I even soiled the guild's history by coming here. It was all nothing in the end if I had known that the emperor of this continent would be Zeref himself."

A short silence assailed in the air. The group shot their eyes wide at the mention of the name. Their expressions halted into a form of disbelief as soon as they heard of the Black Mage.

"Zeref? Zeref is the emperor of this empire?!" Lucy couldn't believe in his words as she stuttered in the process.

Makarov fell silent, unable to bring that one fact towards them though his silence merely answered their fears.

"How could someone like him be an emperor of this continent?" Carla couldn't help but ask the reason.

"During our conversation, he came to this continent and developed it for the purpose of defeating both Acnologia and Ishgar. He's been planning for this since the beginning―a war between his empire, Acnologia and Ishgar."

"T-That's impossible." The information simply took them by full surprise. The absurdity of it is just too much for them to sink in that easily so they could only stammer on the spot. Makarov didn't know what to do as well after learning all of it from the Black Mage.

As much as he didn't want to believe it, he couldn't deny the fact that he's been waiting around all this time for this event to borne fruit. A war where everything would be decided on both sides and the future in which the victor would take hold.

He put all his plans in preparation for this to unfold, unaware for any of them to realize it.

"He kept me in place all this time and I wouldn't even be here if not for Natsu." His eyes now looked over to the pinkette who doesn't seem to care about their conversation as he had his arms crossed, patiently standing a few meters away from them along with Sayla.

"Natsu... saved you?" The others once again couldn't believe what he just said.

"Yeah. I wouldn't even get out alive if he didn't rescue me back then―although, I'm still yet to understand behind his change right now." He voiced out in concern.

"Actually, we also encountered him a few weeks back in Fiore." Gray reminded, surprising the old man.

"You did?"

"Though, it seemed strange to see that he walks with another member of Tartaros―the dark guild that tried to destroy our continent a year back, right Natsu?" He stood up, facing the pinkette with his eyes glaring towards him as if he was letting him a chance to explain himself.

Natsu noticed the intimidation yet he contained his composure before looking towards him. The others seemed to turn their attention to him once again.

"Wait." Makarov cut them off with a raised hand to their side, seeing how they're beginning to focus their attention towards Sayla in hostility.

"Master?"

"There's no need for a fight between us and them. From what I see, she's not an enemy right now." He reasoned, wanting to prevent a bloodbath between both sides.

"What makes you say that? Didn't you forget what they had done to the guild and to our comrades?" Gray interjected, his voice sounding a bit angered at his Master's decision.

"I know what they had done to us before but I don't intend to start another war with them! Then if it really were true, she would've killed me earlier."

Makarov spat back, his words containing absolute authority that Gray was forced to shut his mouth and grit his teeth in frustration.

The former guild master sighed at the growing tension.

It was never like this to happen between them before. This is the probably the first time they ever argued for real. Words were exchanged in either of contempt and hostility between each other. The first time his brats became this much strained from each other and their bonds slowly begin to crumble in his eyes.

"I don't know what's going on between all of you and him but nothing's gonna change if we keep on getting at each other's throats." He scolded.

"...There's a reason behind his actions and it's not in my place to interfere."

"Master?!" They all gaped in shock.

"The moment I disbanded the guild, I've decided that all of you will take on your own separate paths until now. He already chose his own and I'm not the one to judge him or his actions for that matter."

"That's not what this is all about, Master! Natsu just killed someone! The way he acts now is much like the opposite of what he's been doing all this time with us!" Erza shouted, unable to accept what he just said.

This is not like the master at all either. He was their guiding parent and yet―

―How could he just tolerate him from all that happened just now?

"Erza... Just calm down―"

"I don't want another word about it! He is still our friend and if he does something like this, it is our job to remind him of just how wrong it is to take a life of someone else!"

And it was at that time, Natsu began to say something as well.

"Still righteous are we, Erza?"

"What?" Erza gritted her teeth, seeing his tone of voice acts like he was making light of the conversation.

"You still think that killing your enemy is unacceptable even though he tried to kill me and Gramps awhile back. There's nothing more to discuss the moment they raised their swords against me."

"But that doesn't mean you have to right to murder him!"

"I merely eliminated the threat. And I will intend to keep my word on it. If you keep on thinking that way, you might not survive the coming war, Erza..." He retaliates with a dark look of his own. The others looked in deep shock of his response to her. If Lucy had the chance, she would've slapped him due to the way he acts around with them.

Even Makarov was taken aback of his aggressiveness against his friends that made him question of what really happened back then.

"This is not you at all, Natsu!"

It was this time, Happy screamed in tears towards him. The way he is now is just too much for him to handle.

"...You would never ever talk back like that to everyone, especially to Erza. Why are you doing this?" He shouted as tears poured over to his eyes, wanting to see his old self once again. Wendy and Carla stood beside him with the same sorrow they felt upon his change.

The pinkette fell silent once more. The cries of the blue Exceed sealed his lips that he could only look away to avoid their gazes.

"Natsu... This time, will you tell us why are you doing all this? What really happened to you back then?" Erza asked softly, seeing a chance to know everything.

The uncertainty that was written on his face just for a moment made her realize that there's still a part of him that wants to say something to them as if reaching out to them.

A long silence enveloped that atmosphere as they all stood at his reply. Regardless of his transformation, they still view him as their one and only dragonslayer that always put a smile around his friends.

...However, that chance soon came to an end.

Suddenly, a powerful magic pressure was felt by the entire group as they all widened their eyes in disbelief at its sudden appearance.

 _"W-What... What the hell is this?!"_

The aura was nothing like they felt before. A dreadful feeling culminated inside their hearts and sense of fear covered their expressions as if something so evil had appeared into the world.

Their conversation turned into a halt as they all felt the same thing that even Natsu took caution against it.

"It seems like I arrived too late."

An old man voice resounded from behind, shocking everyone as they instantly turned back to the source of the feeling and saw him crouching on one of the bodies that lay cold on the ground.

Makarov didn't even have the need to recognize the person as his voice cracked into a form of stutter at the appearance of the man.

"A-A-August?!"

For the others, however, they felt utterly shocked at the fact that they didn't even notice the Spriggan leader to suddenly appear right beside them. Despite all their capabilities, they were left unaware of his presence just now.

At the same time, they also felt panic.

 _"Since when did he..."_ Mest thought out in disbelief.

The Spriggan mage disregarded their dumbfounded looks and simply continued on his wistful speaking. After a few seconds of examining of his dead comrade, he momentarily closed his eyes before turning his attention to the group with a disappointed look.

"I warned him not to take lightly against such an opponent. Yet it seems his arrogance led him to his own demise. Yajeel might not be able to handle such tragedy..." He spoke wistfully towards the dead Spriggan member. His mind filled with contemplation, much like that of the Black Mage.

A few moments of silence went by as the group stood cautiously around the mage. August soon forwarded his eyes towards the former guild master.

"Makarov... It seems like you're already in a hurry to leave. I expected a somewhat alternative way to see how all this ends with His Majesty's plans for the future of this world yet―his answer is absolute. The final war looms closer to Ishgar..."

"... _Ragnarok_ will happen again."

"Are you saying you want to resolve things differently as of now?"

"Hnn... I detest wars but for a long time, humans have been on the brink of fighting since the early ages. Annihilating both mankind and Acnologia are His Majesty's answer to end everything, however―."

A massive surge of power immediately erupted from his body as soon as he tapped his staff to the ground, shocking the whole group in the process.

"―With things that go from now on, I cannot simply overlook this kind of incident. Killing my comrade will only mean that you finally made your decision to wage war against His Majesty."

At that point, everyone knew that he's not going to let them go that easily.

"Shit! Guess we're going to do this." Gray tapped into his magic to attack but Makarov's sharp words drew him back.

"Stop! He's not someone you can beat with magic alone! He's on a different level from the other Spriggan!" His warning caused everyone to stop attacking but that moment gave August the perfect time to attack.

With a quick gesture from his staff, chain-locked spell markings surrounded Makarov in an instant as they instantly glow in bright purple. The group stood in shock at the unexpected spell as August began to initiate his attack. Erza and the others could not mount any sort of counterattack, leaving their open-wide towards their Master being caught up in the mysterious spell.

"This magic―" He stuttered, noticing the kind of magic cast on him.

There wasn't enough time to cast a defensive spell on his body, leaving him completely nothing to defend from its full power.

A sudden pull was felt on the back of his clothes before being flung away in the last second as his eyes shot wide towards the figure who just pulled him to safety.

 _"Natsu...?!"_

His thoughts went cold as he fully realized what he had just done.

However, it was already too late. The spell has already been cast.

 **"Amaterasu 1000th Formation!"**

Soon afterward, the spell grew bright before emitting a massive dark explosion that simply engulfed the pinkette, destroying the very area where he once stood. Massive tremors were felt as the explosion expanded, destroying more patches of land in its wake.

The explosion went on for a few more minutes that it could be even seen from Vistarion.

Trees were flung into the air due to the violent winds and the surrounding group was merely caught up in the blast, sending them a few meters away without a chance to stand against it. Large chunks of land were also lifted up, crashing a few kilometers away, indicating its destructive force.

It didn't take long as the spell eventually subsided, leaving a large crater in the middle of the forest that stretched as far one mile in diameter.

The once beautiful forest was simply turned into a rocky wasteland as if a huge disaster took place. Smoke and dust lingered through the air, obscuring the center of the explosion as aftermath continued.

Erza managed to recover a few distances away as she pushed out a huge pile of debris that was burying her alive. She already donned her Adamantine armor to protect the others from the flying debris during the initial blast.

The others also used their own magic to protect themselves such as Gray's ice shield and Wendy's enchantment. The three of them managed to hold off against the shockwave but it took almost all of their strength to do so.

Lucy and the others recovered from the blast as well, having their clothes dirtied after experiencing a massive dust storm that came after the blast.

"Is anybody alright?" Erza called back.

"Cough* W-We're alright. No one's hurt." Lucy replied back.

"They seem to be fine, thanks to our magic." Gray walked beside the red head, looking assured that none of them were severely injured from the attack.

They soon turned their attention to the outside world as the scarlet knight slowly staggered her way back before shooting her eyes wide at the destruction left behind. They all stood in utter shock and disbelief in the aftermath of the destruction.

There were no signs of life seen from a mile away. The whole land was turned into a crumbling crater as the ground they once stepped on is now a few meters below.

However, her worries didn't stop there.

Looking around, there were no signs of the pinkette or Sayla around her vicinity.

"W-Where's Natsu?" Happy asked.

"Cough* Cough* He took the blast. He pulled me out of the spell at the last second before taking the hit from August." Makarov spoke, his presence seen as he staggered outside to look at the destroyed forest in worry.

"That spell just now... I never expected to see someone able to exceed the Amaterasu 100th formation." He continued as he gazed over the distance with a serious look present on his face.

He didn't expect for such a spell to cause this much destruction. To think that someone like August is capable of transcending the limits of one's magic at will.

A thought that made him shudder in fear.

On the other hand, the others simply looked around in worry as soon as they heard the pinkette took the blow himself.

If a spell like that was able to inflict this much damage, they could think of the worse that's about to happen to him.

...

August stood solely a few meters away from the center of the crater as he waited for the dust cloud to settle in front of him. His eyes made him sure that the spell directly hit the dragonslayer at point-blank range.

He thought about aiming his magic at Makarov just so to force him to take it in his place. He knew that Natsu has small lingering ties with his former guild so provoking him by targeting one of his former friends is one way to take him out with this one powerful spell.

And that seem to work in the end. There is no way he could've able to dodge it in time.

Soon afterward, the dust settled, revealing nothing but a leftover debris from the blast. His eyes narrowed at the suspicious sight until he simply glanced over to his left where he spotted the dragonslayer who seemed to be unaffected from the blast.

His dragon wing folded around his figure seemingly protected him from the explosion before returning back to its original place over his back.

"I was sure that I hit you with my spell."

"Hnn... Truthfully, that was one dangerous spell."

"Yet you appear less injured than I hoped you would be. No one can escape that spell no matter how fast you can be." He reasoned.

"Ah, that's because she moved the spell away from me." He answered.

"She?"

At that moment, another figure descended down beside the pinkette. August had widened his eyes as soon as he saw her reveal her true form.

"Sorry, I was late," Sayla spoke, finally donning her Etherious Form as her body also underwent drastic changes.

Her skin darkened as multiple black markings similar to that of the pinkette emerged around her body. A pair of yellow sclera replaced her eyes and her horns became noticeably larger and sharper as well. Her once silky hair is now turned wild and her feet also underwent a huge change, turning it some sort of a pair of sharp blades with her legs becoming narrowly stilt adorned with a pair of wing-like protrusions.

A sinister pressure was felt as her power increased dramatically. August didn't expect her to exceed the powers of the Spriggan since he was told that the demons from the Book of Zeref do not possess enough power to destroy him, except for E.N.D.

Yet the presence of her form simply betrayed that thought.

At this moment, she's just as dangerous as her guild master.

"This is... the Etherious Form." He remarked silently.

On the other hand, Natsu and Sayla stood defiantly against the elder Spriggan until the former started talking.

"Did you complete the task?" He asked her.

"Yes. I moved them a few meters away before the blast. They seem to be fine on their own seeing that they managed to withstand the shockwave." Sayla reassured.

"That's good."

"Hnn... I also sent your message to their guild master. It's up to him now whether to tell them to escape from here on out."

...

"So she says..." Makarov spoke about the information Sayla had relayed to them. The others could only gape in shock at the revelation.

"S-Seriously? Is the spell that dangerous?" Lucy stuttered in shock.

"Hnn... It seems like she pulled us away just in time. We wouldn't able to survive if she hadn't moved at the last second." Makarov frowned at the thought.

"Well, I guess I'm thankful for that but where's Natsu?" Erza demanded.

"He's going to fight August."

"WHAT?" A couple of shocks and disbelief went over to the group as soon as they heard him say it.

"Tch... That idiot! Trying to act like he's some sort of a hero!" Gray hissed. He was about to make for a sprint down to the base of the crater until Erza cut him off.

"Out of my way, Erza!"

"And just where do you think you're going off to, Gray? Don't tell me you're going out there to fight as well."

"That idiot doesn't know what he's doing! Do you think he stands a chance against someone like that? There's still a lot of questions he needs to be answered and I'm not letting him go off on his own, acting like a tough shot!"

"He's doing us a favor, Gray." Mest also joined in, blocking his path.

"What?!"

"He wants us to leave this place."

"And then what? Leave him again when we're so close in retrieving him back to us? Is that what you want?!" Everyone knew he was throwing up a fit of rage because of the pinkette's actions.

"...Gray, you need to calm down." Lucy tried to appease but the ice mage is already in the state where he doesn't listen very well to any of their advice.

"So we're just gonna leave here and let him die?! Is that what you all want?!"

"SHUT IT, GRAY!"

A sharp slap went over to the ice mage cheeks as Erza turned to look at him in anger after hearing his words. Makarov and the rest of the ground simply stood in shock as they watched the redhead in worry who had her face shadowed, masking her expression.

Gray eventually snapped away from his rage and simply looked at her in shock.

"We're here to bring back our Master. We didn't come here to settle a fight with them. As much as it pains me to say it, we should listen to him just this once." She muttered as she finally made her decision.

She walked past him as her face gazed in the opposite direction.

"Natsu is doing us a favor. This is the only chance we can get to escape from this continent. I didn't say we should abandon him but all of us must return to Fairy Tail one way or another. Everyone is waiting for us. Do you understand that, Gray?"

Her words pierced their hearts after hearing her final say on the matter. Lucy and Wendy couldn't bring to oppose her decision as they forced themselves to bear the pain and slowly decided to move out. Mest and the other Exceeds also followed along with Makarov who came in last in line to move away from the impending battle.

He placed a reassuring pat on the steady knight.

"Let's go. We can search for him once this is all over."

"..."

"I know it's hard to decide but we got to leave this one to Natsu."

Small tears were seen from his eyes as Erza wiped it away and steeled her resolve in the very end. She was their acting leader so she has to remain strong despite the tension around them.

"I-I understand, Master."

After their hard fought decision, the group eventually retreated further deep into the forest, leaving the pinkette behind.

It was difficult to think of leaving one of their friends behind for the sake of others. Despite how he's changed, they couldn't bring themselves to abandon him yet―

―this is their one and only chance to escape from this hellish country. What lies in store for them is just getting started.

Happy took one last glance over to the horizon as he desperately tried to hold his tears once again. The chance to bring back Natsu is already long gone. He might not be able to see him and he could feel he was torn inside.

And finally, they left the country, dejected.

...

Meanwhile, the battle between August and Natsu began.

Noticing the disappearance of the other group, the elder Spriggan shook his head in disappointment but at the same time, realized the reason behind the dragonslayer's actions.

"I see... So you deliberately shifted my attention away just so they could get away from here. Yet I don't understand why must you do such a thing. You're a demon, are you not? The strongest Etherious and His Majesty's beloved brother." He inquired.

"I'm no one's brother, August. I am me. And I decide what I want to do. You said you will take revenge on your fallen comrade? Then there's no need to chase after them. You're looking at the murderer right now." Natsu spat back with a dark tone.

Yet the Spriggan leader showed no signs of fear against him.

"Hmph... Your tenacity will never break me, demon. The war has already started, E.N.D."

"I was waiting for it."

With those words exchanged, the two clashed with each other as Natsu instantly dashed towards him in just a fraction of a second. His right hand, now morphed into a dragon claw is swung to cut him down but the Spriggan mage already saw through his movements as he quickly raised his staff to defend.

A powerful clash of attacks collided, creating a shockwave that blew everything back.

"Now, Sayla!" Natsu shouted, finally putting up a small opening for her to attack August.

The demon girl blurred past the pinkette from behind and appeared right on his left. Sayla opened the palm of her right hand as she began to use her own curse. Several writings circled around her hand before the third eye appeared on her open palm.

"Haaaaaaaa!"

With a shout, she stretched her right arm as a powerful energy was blasted out to meet the undefended August at near point-blank range. The spell emitted a bright light, engulfing the Spriggan as the blast of energy raged a few meters away from her direction.

A short tremor resulted afterward. Dust and smoke covered the area for a moment before disappearing.

However, their eyes shot wide upon realizing something. The figure who stands between their attacks turns out to be a fake as the energy blast in which Sayla had directed to in his chest simply went past by it.

"An illusion?"

Their eyes now turned towards the real thing just a few meters away from them as August flipped his staff, summoning eight balls of light that circled around his figure.

 **"Eight Stars of Destruction!"**

Another spell was released as the balls were shot towards the duo in bullet speeds, prompting them to dodge as it released a powerful light explosion upon contact to the ground. However, the rest of the balls simply followed the fleeing demons like a homing device.

Natsu shot three fireballs from his mouth to intercept the pursuers, resulting three consecutive explosions in the far distance as his spells hit their target. Sayla easily used her newfound speed to dodge all the other four balls―all missing their target by a mile.

The two soon dashed straight towards August with their own respective spells at hand.

 **"Demonic Fire Dragon's Hellbound Fist!"**

 **"Hell's End!"**

With both attacks coming from both sides, August simply closed his eyes as he tapped his staff down on the ground as if transferring a portion of his magic beneath him. At that moment, two massive pillars as high as castle walls with intricate designs emerged from the ground on his both sides, acting some sort of protection against their incoming attack.

Natsu and Sayla shot their eyes wide in surprise as soon as their spells hit the pillars. It gradually weakens their attack power as they desperately tried to break through and eventually, shattering them successfully but at the same time, negating their attacks before they could even reach to him.

As a result, they both stood near the Spriggan mage, seemingly open for a short moment before prompting them to leap away to gain distance.

Their battle soon turns into a halt.

"As expected of the demons from the book of Zeref... Both of you possess such strong prowess that even the ancient magics cannot hope to suppress it." August remarked.

"Heh, you're not as bad as yourself. To think that someone like you is somewhere around this continent. Saved me a lot of time to find guys like you." Natsu smirked, seemingly elated at the fact to fight someone who's close to his level.

"Don't misunderstand, E.N.D. This battle isn't about fighting to win over another. In your own case, you're buying time for the others to get away, is that right?"

"Who knows? But that doesn't change the fact that I'm going to kill you right here." He shrugged.

"Hmph, you're pretentious as ever." August shook his head in disappointment. He shadowed his expression for a moment before dawning a rather serious look.

"Well then, show me the power of the strongest demon, Etherious Natsu Dragneel." He taunted.

"I told you already..." He suddenly disappeared―

―Before appearing right in front of August's eyes.

 **"I don't like anyone calling me by that name."**

August was completely caught off guard at the god-like speed as he failed to track the pinkette's speed and eventually got himself a huge opening for him to attack.

 _"He's fast_ ―"

 **"Demonic Fire Dragon's Crimson Fangs!"**

Natsu swung his dragon claw in a claw-like fashion, hitting August straight to the chest as the force of the blow blew him away, tumbling in the process. The mage gritted his teeth before his eyes tracked the crimson blur coming straight towards him at high speeds.

Ignoring the pain inflicted in his abdomen, August spun his staff once more before another set of eight flashing balls were sent towards his pursuer in retaliation.

However, the balls were simply deflected, causing him to widen his eyes in shock as Natsu coated himself in dark red flames as a means of protection from any sort of magic thrown against him.

 **"Demonic Fire Dragon's Tail Attack!"**

With a spin from his legs, Natsu blazed around in a torrent of flames, hitting the mage once more to the face and sent him crashing a few distances away.

A huge cloud of dust emitted but the attacks never receded.

"Sayla!" He called out from above as the demon girl floated in mid-air just above the dust cloud with a follow-up attack.

Her hands stretched in front as a swell of energy surrounded her hands, both having a third eye in their open palm as writing symbols also circled around it.

 **"Demon Eyes!"**

Another spell was launched―this time, a massive pillar of blue light was shot out from her hands and slammed down to the earth where August once stood and creating a powerful tremor that lasted a few minutes as the Sayla released her curse against her opponent.

The pillar of light could be seen from the far distance that baffled nearby onlookers.

...

After a few seconds, the pillar of light soon dissipated.

Scattered dust clouds surrounded the area as Sayla landed right next to the pinkette. A slight strain is seen visible on her face after releasing a powerful curse against her enemy.

"You alright?" Natsu asked.

"Huff* Huff* I'm fine. More importantly, did we get him?"

"There's no way he would be able to avoid that scale of attack. If anything, he'll have to guard it." Natsu muttered seriously. Sayla could only nod before focusing her attention back towards the scene.

They waited for a few seconds until the smoke settled, revealing a nearly unscathed August who had his hands raised up front. An invisible dome soon flickered around his figure which made them assume that it was some sort of shield.

"I'm impressed... To think someone from the books of Zeref is capable enough to land a blow on me." He remarked.

Sayla gritted her teeth in frustration.

"So it was all for nothing."

"No, take a closer look on his left arm," Natsu replied, causing her to look closely on the mage's left arm which is severely burnt for unknown reason. Her eyes shot wide in realization.

"Your curse went through. It seems like he didn't expect you to have something like that in your arsenal."

"I commend you for your strength but―" He paused as he slowly lifted his wounded arm while placing his other hand on it.

A small purple glow was seen, indicating the use of magic as the severely burnt arm suddenly returned back to normal as if bringing it from its original state.

The display of magic shocked the two.

"High-speed regeneration? Just how much magic this guy have?" Sayla voiced out in disbelief.

"That's not it." August cut her off upon hearing their conversation.

"...I merely restored my arm from what it was used to be in last few minutes. It's not a high-speed regeneration but rather―"

"A time-reversing technique, huh?" Natsu finished.

"...What a troublesome spell you got there. It almost seemed like you know all types of magic." He narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"Perhaps you two weren't aware of my alias, judging from your reactions. I go by the name, The Magic King."

"Magic King, you say?"

"Of course, there are others within the Spriggan 12 who gained their aliases due to their own unequal strength. The Scarlet Despair, The Winter General or even the White Dragneel..."

"Heh! Looks like they're just a bunch of names I can hardly care about. Whoever they are, I'll kill them if they dare stand in my way." Natsu spat.

"You said something about a White Dragneel. Who are you talking about?" Sayla asked, the name struck her mind but August shook his head.

"You'll find out soon. But first, I'll have you two subjugated. You two are the most viable threat next to Acnologia himself. In order to win this war, I'll have to dispose of all the nuisances."

"I'm getting tired of that mouth of yours! You don't know who you're dealing with." Natsu barked as he released a massive pillar of fire from his body that shot through the sky until a menacing roar erupted in its wake, startling every living being within the area in fear.

The flames morphed into a dragon as Natsu began to attack once more.

 **"Demonic Fire Dragon's Roar!"**

Gathering all the air inside his lungs, Natsu launched a massive torrent of fire towards him. August stood defiantly against the spell as he tapped his staff once more until a massive pillar of fire similar of the size of the roar erupted in front of him to negate it.

Two flames collided against each other but it was enough for the pinkette to use the opportunity as he dashed straight to the inferno with another spell at hand.

 **"Demonic Fire Dragon's Hellbound Fist!"**

He clenched his right fist as flames cloaked around it in a form of a dragon as it tried to punch the mage away in sheer force that created a massive shockwave around them.

August raised his staff in defense while maintaining his ground despite the force of the attack.

"Hmph... Is that all?"

"We're not yet done! Sayla!"

Shouting her name, the demon girl instantly appeared right behind the unsuspecting mage. His attention towards the pinkette left him vulnerable against her as she released another power from her hand.

"Take this!"

 **"Demonic Energy Blast!"**

Another massive explosion resulted after that.

The spell directly hit the mage at point-blank range. There was no avoiding that attack. Sayla was sure of that.

However, as soon as the dust dissipated, her eyes widened in disbelief.

August stood unscathed at the deadly attack. His free hand was in a form of gesture to meet her attack which meant that he managed to protect himself while keeping the dragonslayer with his other hand.

 **"Amaterasu 7th Negation Circle!"** He whispered.

"...And―"

"What?" The two demons shot their eyes wide.

August changed the gesture from his free hand once more as another spell was immediately cast in place.

 **"Omnipotent Judgment of the 18 War Gods!"**

As those words were invoked, a powerful repulsive force sent the two demons away from opposite directions, tumbling a few meters away from the Spriggan.

Natsu gritted his teeth as he tried to bear down his hands down to the ground along with his feet to stop the momentum. A long trail of dust emerged as he skidded away from the vicinity until finally making a stop.

His eyes gazed over to August in pure shock after witnessing his power firsthand.

 _"T-That spell just now..."_

He slowly stood up before looking over to his current state which shown to have multiple scratches and injuries all over after taking a hit from that spell.

 _"This guy... is dangerous."_ Natsu thought out in caution.

For him to able to withstand against him with just a staff and negate Sayla's curse in just a flick of a finger, it is easily assumed that this person is not like the other Spriggan that they encountered back at Caracall.

His power might even exceed that of the Black Mage himself.

"You're underestimating me, E.N.D."

August spoke despite having himself a few yards away from the pinkette, knowing that he can hear just fine due to his heightened senses. Natsu narrowed his eyes for a moment as he leaped in the air to close the distance between them.

"It's true that you may have the power to bring down both His Majesty and Acnologia. The former, however, still had doubts about your growth."

"What are you talking about?"

"You still don't get it, do you? The power of the demon is still not unleashed. You've been suppressing it even though you have full control of it. The power you hold right now is nothing compared to what he had created you in the first place..."

"...You have the opportunity to release all of your power as of now to defeat me yet you hesitate."

"I had enough of your bullshit!" Natsu stood up once more.

"Perhaps, the answer to your indecision is because of her." He glanced over to the far side of the battlefield where a small dust cloud slowly settled and revealed a severely wounded Sayla within the rubble.

Natsu's attention immediately shifted towards her after noticing her lack of presence after the spell.

"Sayla!"

The demon girl was weakened. Her Etherious Form is already gone after inflicting a huge damage on her body. Multiple scratches are seen all over her body and her clothes slightly tattered from the course of their battle against August.

A painful grunt escaped her lips as she struggled to recover from her injuries. The spell simply took a lot of toll on her body that even moving her limbs would feel like a thousand times harder to do so.

"Sayla!" He shouted in worry, completely forgetting the Spriggan general as he tried to rush over to her which resulted in letting down his guard as August appeared in front of him and placed another spell on him.

 **"Amaterasu 100th Formation!"**

A dark explosion engulfed the dragonslayer without mercy.

His body flung in the air a few meters before crashing down to the ground. Despite it being just a normal spell, it was enough to inflict his body enough damage as he struggles to his feet.

"Why you―" He growled in anger but he was stopped as soon as his eyes finally gazed back to his enemy who is now holding the injured demon girl by the neck in his hands.

August had deliberately taken the opportunity to use her as a shield to prevent the pinkette from doing any moves against him.

"Sayla! You bastard! Let go of her!" As if to respond to his emotions, the wounds around his body were simply ignored as if nothing happened. His worry over to the demon girl was simply enough to shatter his tough façade.

"It seems like I was right after all," August confirmed his thoughts.

His hand slowly tightens around her neck, causing Sayla to shriek in pain at the choking pain welling up on her throat.

"Kh...kuh...ahk―"

Natsu lost all judgment and instinctively rushed towards him in a fit of rage just to save her.

"LET HER GO!"

However, it was not what he expected to see as August flicked another Amaterasu spell against the pinkette, pushing him down to the ground once more as the spell exploded above his head.

"To think that you even lost all reason just to save this one worthless demon. How pathetic you have become, Etherious Natsu Dragneel." He mocked.

Natsu lay injured on the center of the small crater but still managed to withstand such powerful spells without any kind of support. His eyes gazed over to August, standing in front of him with an emotionless expression.

"H-How dare you to call her like that?!"

"Sigh* I honestly didn't expect for you to harbor such feelings towards this demon. I don't know if this was part of His Majesty's plan to have his creations to experience something like love. True justice is naught to be seen in the light of people's hearts or their darkness. Good and evil doesn't exist. If there was to be a so-called justice, it may well lie in love alone..."

"...His Majesty has walked over that path once. He strived for an answer of the One Magic that he once pursued. But in the end, he realized the truth..."

"...Love or Darkness. These are the two answers he found. I guess that he may have implanted the very same concept while creating you and the other demons."

"W-What are you talking about?"

"The true magic where everything began. Is it love or darkness? The answer to that question probably lies within you, his little brother. You're the key holding to his answer."

"I don't get a single word you say! Cut the crap already!" August shook his head at the unreasonable response.

"Well, the answer is right here. In your eyes, everything will be clear... when this woman dies."

"NO! STOP IT!" Natsu's desperate voice filled the air.

This time, the Spriggan general held Sayla by her hair to provoke him even more as she gave a painful scream in the process. His other free hand is slowly placed behind her chest, seemingly to stab her.

Natsu cursed his own body for its weakness. The two Amaterasu spells that directly hit him are now spreading its effect on his body. A huge strain and a massive pain erupted almost instantly that could knock a normal mage from their consciousness due to unable to take it all in.

His eyes grew in despair as he helpless watched her about to get stabbed in front of his eyes.

It was then, he caught a small drop of tears.

It was from her.

And a soft whisper was caught in his ears as Sayla opened her weary eyes over to him with a sad smile.

 _"Run, Natsu..."_

...

...

...

August turned his free hand into a blade of magic as his hand finally locked itself towards his captive. A task he deemed necessary to see the result with his very own eyes and a fulfilling promise to avenge his fallen comrade. Without any hesitation, he swiftly thrusts his hand forward to end her life once and for all.

"!"

His eyes widened in shock as soon as he found his hand being held back by the dragonslayer whom he thought who was already beyond recovery to stand up.

Since when did he find the time to recover himself and stop his attack?

Shock filled his system as the dragonslayer shadowed his expression, completely hidden from his eyes.

He tried to break free from his hold but any amount of strength in tried to pour in his arm, it was completely restricted as if he doesn't have any means to let go.

It was then, a malevolent voice escaped from his lips that sent a chilling fear all over his body.

 **"How dare you..."**

 ** _SNAP*_**

A bone-breaking sound filled the silent air. August instantly teleported himself away from the dragonslayer as soon as the pain welled up on his broken wrist. The vicious tone gave him a warning that if he didn't let go of his hold on the girl, he would've been dead in the next second.

As a result, he was forced to give up on his captive as Sayla fell, only to be caught in the arms of the dragonslayer who held her close to him protectively.

 _"What happened just now? Just all of a sudden, his power suddenly returned..."_

August tried to analyze his opponent's unusual nature but it was cut off as he felt a stinging pain over his right cheek, realizing too late as Natsu sent a sucker punch towards him and sent him flying away from the battlefield and crashed into a pile of debris.

A huge cloud of dust erupted in his crash as Natsu remained expressionless while holding the unconscious girl in his arms.

It didn't take a few seconds as the dust was swept by a violent gust as August emerged with a slight scratch on his cheek where the punch was inflicted at. A small patch of blood trickled from the Spriggan general's mouth before wiping it away in the process.

 _"His speed increased exponentially... I can't even follow that kind of movement. Just what in the world happened?!"_

After gaining enough distance away from each other, Natsu proceeded to look over Sayla who seemingly begun to cough roughly in blood. The aftereffects of the spell she was inflicted to begin to deteriorate her from the inside.

Her consciousness was barely hanging up onto him as her eyes simply looked over to his emotionless face.

"Cough* Cough* N-Natsu..."

The pinkette heard her voice, prompting her to look back at her in worry. A sense of relief washed over his face after seeing her able to talk at least though her current condition didn't help him contain his happiness and was only overwhelmed with anger towards the perpetrator in front of him.

"Don't speak... I'll promise to get out you here so hang in there just a little longer."

There was no response but he knew that she understood his request. He gently laid her near a large rock and rested her head there.

At that moment, he gazed back to the Spriggan mage with his own fearsome look. August noticed this and simply healed all his injuries back in an instant.

"I sense an unusual change of your power... Have you finally come to unleash your full power against me?" He spoke but his eyes once again failed to track him down as Natsu instantly appeared right in front of him with a seemingly vicious look.

 **"Stop talking and fight..."**

A kick to the chin sent the old mage flying high in the air as Natsu followed him close and clasped both his hands cloaked in flames before smashing it down towards him. August plunged down to the ground like a meteor as a massive cloud of dust erupted upon impact.

The dragonslayer landed down on his feet. Dark red flames circled all over his body though the image of its red color is slowly becoming much darker than ever. Scales invade through his remaining human skin and his horns turned considerably sharper than ever.

August emerged yet again as he instantly used his magic to heal his injuries in an instant though some leaving a permanent damage on his body which alerted him in the process. He looked at his enemy in shock.

A surge of power erupted within him as he unleashes another form.

 **"Etherious Fire Dragon King Mode!"**

The power of both dragon and demon is finally released. Natsu was unable to accomplish this feat until now which boosted his powers even more than any could've expected.

August steeled himself at the new form as he could feel his power exceeding that of his own. His eyes widened in shock at the display of both magic and curse working in sync which was thought to be impossible in the first place.

"T-That's impossible! The power of magic and curse combined together?! That's preposterous! A level of that power could destroy your body no matter how much powerful you've become!"

Yet, the dragonslayer didn't respond.

Instead, he lifted his head slowly and met his gaze with his eyes glowed in crimson. August was prepared to attack until―

 **"I order you... Kill yourself."**

Without any moment to spare, August simply found himself stabbing his right abdomen with his left hand. A pair of surprised eyes were seen all over his face as he found his own body moving on its own―rather, it followed on his orders alone.

"Guhaaa―" A pained scream was released in his mouth but he managed to suppress it as nearly fell on his knees while looking at him in confounded surprise.

"W-What did you do?!"

 **"I order you... Kill yourself."**

The very same words were spoken once more and the same hand that stabbed his abdomen involuntarily moved without his consent.

But before his hand could even stab him even further, August deliberately cut it off which seemed to work as the uncontrolled hand ceased to move. A phantom pain swelled over to the slashed part as August gazed at him in contempt.

His thoughts were rattled on the fact of his opponent somehow managing a partial control over his body in just a few words. He looked over to his now severed left hand until a moment of realization strikes him.

 _"I see... He was able to control my left arm due to that time earlier..."_

Recalling the part where he grabbed his wrist to save Sayla, he understood everything behind the result of his control over his left hand.

However, this doesn't change the current situation as he was at the mercy of the dragonslayer's overwhelming power.

 **"What's wrong, Magic King? Are you still going to fight?"** His voice was different from before, containing much more bloodlust as he sent a massive wave of thorns in his way.

Sayla who had been able to witness the whole sight widened her eyes in shock.

 _"Macro... Even Lord Mard Geer's Thorn Curse?"_

She noticed every spell that Natsu's using are coming from various demons from the book of Zeref.

This is the first time she saw him utilizing all the curses of all the demons of the Book of Zeref.

August evaded the onslaught with careful observation all the while ignoring the pain on his severed cut arm. The other remaining arm held on to his staff as he prepared to confront the waving huge thorns.

 **"Chronos' Third Clock of Asunder!"**

He invoked another spell as the area where he pointed his spell gradually became lifeless as the thorns and other living things are turned into wilt, leaving nothing but withered remains.

Natsu leaped away from the deadly spell as he raised his dragon arm in response.

A series of flame pillars erupted from the ground beneath August as they formed in the same shape and tried to chase down the fleeing mage. August soon used another gesture on his remaining arm and pointed it on the dragonslayer.

 **"Souls of the Underworld!"**

At that moment, a dark surge of waves in the form of vaguely shaped human souls flew towards Natsu in fast speeds. A dark hue momentarily blocked the sunlight from above as it flew overhead before crashing unto him, however―

As just as the wave was about to consume the whole area, Natsu simply raised his left dragon arm, burning the very magic away with ease.

 _"T-The magic was incinerated?!"_

His shock was short-lived as he noticed a dark mist beginning to surround his area at a fast rate. A dreadful feeling occupied the Spriggan as he noticed the spell being cast.

"Crap! I-I can't move!" His body was paralyzed probably due to the mist surrounding him. A spell he did not know of clearly caused him to widen his eyes in disbelief.

 **"Be swallowed in the eternal prison of Life and Death."**

 **"Memento Mori!"**

The grim words were the last thing he heard before being engulfed in a sea of dark spirits that soon shot out to the sky. An ultimate curse that was thought to be held by the King of the Underworld alone is now invoked once again.

Natsu stared evilly at the beam of spirits as he watched his own opponent seemingly erased from reality. A forbidden curse that was also intended to take down Zeref was in his hands. After all, he was the creator of these curses and such it gives him the right to wield it all in his hands.

A vicious grin escaped his lips at the seemingly one-sided victory.

 **"With this, I'll be able to kill you, Zeref."**

He muttered darkly, marveling at the height of his own power.

Sayla couldn't believe what she was seeing.

The look on his face is completely different. A sense of greater evil could be seen all over his expression. Bloodlust completely occupied his mind as if nothing could be better other than killing.

A traumatic past soon began to relive inside her memories as she looked at the very same demon she faced a year ago.

This isn't the Natsu she knew.

―However, a massive pillar of flame interrupted her thoughts as they both looked back to the battlefield, seeing the ultimate curse being engulfed entirely, incinerating its effects in the process.

Natsu's dark grin immediately turned into a frown as he gazed over at the sky.

 **"Tch, it's one after another."**

"What a rude way of greeting a woman. I expected nothing less from demons." A feminine voice echoed from the skies, carrying the same magic prowess as that of the Magic King.

"It seems that you finally arrived, Scarlet Despair." August turned to look at the descending figure making her way towards the battle.

The two couldn't make a recognition of the unknown woman as she landed down beside the Spriggan general with an uncaring look on her face.

She was a tall and lean woman with a considerably voluptuous body adorned with a rather revealing outfit. One noticeable feature was her long scarlet hair that flows behind her back with a pair of loosely braided curls that hangs in front. A rather intricate staff is seen from one of her hands as she stood side by side with the Magic King.

"Well, well... what do we have here? A loose demon from His Majesty's previous work? It looks like it's been giving you a hard time, August." She mocked.

"What are you doing here, Eileen?" August answered in a rather dissatisfying tone.

"His Majesty's orders. He figured that you might die fighting him so there's that."

 **"So another pest showed up... Hmph, no matter... I'll kill both of you."** Natsu was about to move until a voice called her back.

"N-Natsu...! T-That's enough!" The quivering voice of his nearly forgotten companion halted his onslaught.

 **"Tch, it looks like I wasted too much time..."**

Without much of a choice, Natsu jumped away from the scene and landed next to the wounded demon girl. He gently grabbed her bridal-style before disappearing from the battlefield, abruptly ending the battle between them.

The tense atmosphere subsided but the aftermath of the fight left a huge devastated landscape.

"Hmph, what a shame. Just when I was starting to show up." Eileen huffed.

"Well, either way, everything is already in place." August sighed, seemingly satisfied at the sudden turn of events as he began to close up his wounds from the fight save for his left hand.

"But seriously, I never expected to see someone give you that much beating. You don't suppose you're already losing your touch all these years, August." Eileen mocked at his sorry state.

"I merely wanted to see how powerful he has become. This is part of my task for the upcoming war―though I didn't expect it to be this gruesome. Either way, both him and Acnologia are the only ones who's hindering His Majesty's efforts to win this war."

"A threat indeed. As expected of the strongest demon he stupidly created."

"You're forgetting the fact that demon is His Majesty's beloved brother."

"Sigh* A complicated family affair. I already discarded that a long time ago." Eileen growled.

"We stayed here for too long... Report back to His Majesty as soon as possible. I still have to settle matters with Lord Yajeel of his loss."

"It's fine... We can still use him even though he's dead, am I right?"

August cast an intimidating glance towards the woman after making light of the concept of their comrade's death.

And the battle ends with several minds interact and clash.

...

A few miles away from the battlefield, Natsu and Sayla also made their escape as they finished their mission―although, it didn't leave them with merely good results. The rampage of the pinkette etched deep into Sayla's memories as she witnessed his fearsome for the first time.

The dragonslayer already reverted back to his human form though with the exception of his demon horns that is usually seen above his head.

He carried her on his back as he waited for her to recover her injuries from the fight.

After a few minutes, the pinkette momentarily stopped near an open forest.

"Let's take a short rest here... Is that okay to you?" He asked his companion who answered with a meek nod.

He carefully settled her in a nearby tree to rest. Much of her injuries were starting heal and was able to stand up but Natsu insisted her to rest. He went to fetch some water in the nearby lake, leaving her for a moment.

Sayla used this time to reflect on what she saw back then.

Aside from the usage of other curses from the demons of Tartaros, she shuddered at the sight of the dragonslayer's ruthless aggression against his enemies. There wasn't any hint of mercy during that time of their fight.

It is as if he was starting turn like the one she fought before that night.

"Sayla...Sayla!"

A voice interrupted her thoughts as she looked about and saw Natsu finally back after fetching some water for them. She was so deep in thought that she didn't notice him arriving back from the lake.

"A-Ah, yes... I'm fine." She took the bottle of water to drink which eased her tense body until finally calming down.

Natsu saw this and contented a smile before sitting right next to her and drank his own.

"Is something on your mind? You've been acting a bit strange lately, you know." He immediately asked, earning the girl to fluster.

"I-Iyaa... That's not what I―I mean, it's nothing." It's obvious that she was having a problem, judging from her reaction but he simply let it slide for some reason.

"I see..."

"Are you okay, Natsu?" This time, it was her turn to ask after noticing his face sunk in deep thought.

"U-Uh... yeah. Just had some heavy thoughts lately." He looked back in surprise towards Sayla who seemed to notice his uncertain expression.

"Is it about what happened earlier?"

"..." He didn't speak. Her face turned into worry as she looked at him with unease. She clearly noticed something just happened during his fight.

"Just now in that fight... you looked... different." Natsu could only widen his eyes in surprise at her response.

"Are you... Are you frightened...?"

Anyone could easily fear him after witnessing his power. He was a monster, to begin with. Even if she is with him, it was clearly normal for her to feel afraid after seeing all that. He wanted to hide it from her as long as possible because his power was dangerous even to those around him, especially to her as well. That one thought suddenly struck him as he noticed her strained expression.

"J-Just a bit..."

"I see..."

He softened his gaze and proceeded to hug her comfortably, slightly surprising her in the process.

"Sorry for scaring you..." He apologized.

"I-I wasn't-!"

But Natsu simply carried on with his hug until Sayla finally calmed down but still looked at him in concern. She quickly recalled her memory of what happened earlier at the beginning of their fight. She didn't know what to do when she saw him acting differently in front of her from that fight.

It was at that moment, she immediately felt empty... and scared. Losing Natsu would bring nothing for her here in this world. That's why she was so frightened when she saw him transformed into something they both didn't want to turn into.

Natsu himself noticed this as well. During in his fight, he was experiencing a rather different feeling that gradually started to eat away his old self. The irresistible bloodlust overwhelmed his mind at that time that he didn't even notice just how worse he was becoming.

He remembered what his evil counterpart had imparted a few months ago.

A premonition of an upcoming disaster.

"I won't lose myself... I promise you." He whispered softly.

"E-Eh?"

"I swear I'll protect you with all my life. I will fight without losing myself, alright?" He wanted to say it. Just to reassure her that nothing will go wrong.

He will not let himself fall under his own power. He will not become like _him._

He felt a tight hug as Sayla buried herself closer to him.

"Promise?" She whispered.

"Aaah, I promise."

He planted a soft kiss on her forehead as a sign of reassurance as they embraced each other affectionately.

Moments later, they eventually broke away from their embrace to finally discuss the current situation.

"So what are we gonna do now? We finally found Zeref but―"

"Yeah, he has a set of elite mages to guard him. To think that they would be this many. At this rate, I couldn't even begin to imagine to win at all if I faced them all at the same time." Natsu admitted. It wasn't a statement of fear but rather a rational probability of being able to pull it off.

He's strong. That he can say confidently to himself but he's not invulnerable. Even a strong mage like him isn't enough to bring down a whole continent by sheer power alone.

"Well, they're already down to one but there are still eleven more somewhere out there in the continent."

"Seeking help with the Magic Council sounds like a far stretch. We don't have anyone around here who's willing to join us in the fight." He pondered.

"Wouldn't your friends be on the same side since they're waging a war on all of Ishgar?"

"With things that happened between us and them, I doubt that it'll happen smoothly." Considering their history with Tartaros, asking them is just like a kick to the face very hard while apologizing afterward.

It's better to leave them be and settle their own problems.

"I know... but there isn't really anyone out there that we could ask for help."

They were out of options. Natsu thought about recalling his thoughts for a plan against the upcoming war but nothing seems to come in mind until―

"I found it."

"Eh?"

"I found it." He repeated.

"Found what?"

"The people we need to join our side." He smiled. Sayla was confused.

"Really? Are you sure we can get them to our side?"

"Hmm, sort of. It will probably take a convincing or two but we'll work it out somehow."

"You sound confident about these mysterious allies of yours. Are you sure we can trust them?" Sayla huffed in suspicion.

"Well, I can't really call them allies yet but it'll be soon enough."

"Alright... So who were they?" She asked.

"I think you probably know... We'll have to bring back Tartaros."

* * *

 **A/N: And there's the chapter. What do you think? A fierce battle between Natsu and August with a little bit of Sayla OPness in the mix. Though I can't say she can be an equal match for August but her powers as of now will be as that of a Spriggan level. Also, it seems like I showcased a full on battle between them since I felt that the last chapter to be lackluster of battles.**

 **Nevertheless, I brought out what you dinguses want but there will be more in the upcoming chapters. Speaking of chapters, the next would feature the assembly of the Tartaros members. Yes, I know what you mean. I'll be only including demons whose statuses are either inactive or unknown which mean that deceased ones will not be included so be reminded.**

 **Oh, and there's a new image cover for the story. Someone had PM me to make a cover pic of the crack pairing so I tried doing so and this is what I come up with after sifting through hundreds of pictures for our adorable Sayla. (Honestly, let's give her more fanart!)**

 **Well, leaving that aside, look forward to the next chapter. Thank you and have a fruitful year in this starting 2017.**

 **\- The wiErDos send their regards...**


	21. Preparation

**A/N: Sup guys, wiErD here and I've got another chapter for you all.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything** **except** **for my plots. Everything else is owned by Hiro Mashima. Support the official release.**

* * *

 **\- Preparation -**

A peaceful day has passed since then after the incident back at Vistarion.

The people of Fiore and all of Ishgar remained unaware of the impending invasion laid out by the Western Continent. It wasn't sure if it was the lacking of the Magic Council governing all other countries that the news about the war hasn't reached to almost everyone yet or that they were fearful of announcing such a serious situation. After all, it's been a long time since they experienced a long-dreaded war.

The prompted invasion from 10 years ago was never carried out due to some circumstances and the world had lived in peace since then until the coming of Acnologia and Zeref.

It all made sense that their peaceful days are about to come to an end and that they would be forced to take up arms against a powerful empire led by the Black Mage himself.

Of course, this information has not been revealed to most of the people yet and only a handful of those knew the real situation at hand.

The threat of the Alvarez empire is just as worrisome as other countries besides Fiore. Though the intention behind the invasion wasn't revealed, it's necessary to bring up a union between countries to fight against a powerful foe.

With their powerful weapon and their backup plan being foiled in the last year alongside with their old council, there's no guarantee that they could defend themselves in the face of an attack.

...

Numerous cities and villages were soon evacuated from all around Fiore. The news about the war eventually spread and all other remaining guilds cooperate together with each other to prepare as well.

The reformed Magic Council was headed by three of the Four Heavenly Gods of Ishgar. They now became the head of the operation as they began their plans for the upcoming invasion. Hearing the news of the failed negotiations, it's natural to prepare for the worse.

They initially prefer to a more peaceful approach but they also made preparations if the talks were deemed a failure.

And now... It's come to this.

Situated within the halls of the newly rebuilt council headquarters, members of the council roamed around in preparation for the war. People flooded the hallways, carrying different tasks as they moved from all directions to put out orders from other guilds. Unlike what the old Magic Council does its everyday operations, everyone is all focused on their tasks. There's not a single moment wasted as they had a grave situation needed dealing with.

On a certain room, a gathering was taking place.

Guildmasters from around the country gathered in a huge room where they began discussing their matters about the news of the invasion. A huge long table stretched out with multiple chairs in which are occupied by most of the people inside.

And the tension had just already started.

"This is not enough for more defense. Our men are short-handed against such an attack and we need to seek help from other countries as soon as possible."

"It's too late for any of that. We don't have enough time to prepare if we request help. We should all focus on the civilians and have them evacuate to the mountains."

"Evacuating the people will be a hard task for one country. The Custody Enforcement Unit are also short-handed. We won't have enough time to deal with our problems before the invasion began."

"Let's not forget Tartaros as well. They're the ones involved in the recent dark guild uprising."

"Iceberg, Seven and Caelum agreed to help and they also began their own preparations against the invasion."

"Bosco and Stella have agreed to help as well but the other countries seemed to pay no mind of Alvarez' declaration of war."

"Those lazy ass bastards..."

Arguments were thrown around the room as the guild masters expressed their thoughts and discussions of the situation.

Looking at how the atmosphere was filling the room, everyone was on the edge. An all-out war against a military-run empire was not something they would all expected since just after managing to subjugate the growing dark guilds in the last few weeks.

With the Magic Council still growing back on its feet, it's unclear whether who the person in charge is. After all, this was just a temporary solution to bring back order after an almost apocalyptic event with Tartaros planning to wipe out all magic in the continent.

And this isn't something that they could easily brush aside.

The news is certainly way beyond their expectations.

The room was filled with divided sides and all other chances of thinking out their perfect strategy seemed rather slim at the moment and as things just about to get worse, their arguments came to halt when―

 **THUD***

A loud stomp suddenly took over the atmosphere, followed by a long silence as all heads turned towards the source of the noise in which their eyes fell over Wolfheim who had a frightening glare towards them in such an intimidating manner.

Everyone knew his position as the third from the Four Heavenly Gods of Ishgar so their reactions towards his grim expression were merely fear and respect with the former being more noticeable from most of people.

"Tch, all your bickering with each other are nothing like pests around the wild. Is this what our unity is supposed to be?! We're in a middle of a war discussion here and I suggest you all to shut your mouth before I force myself to do so!"

There was no effort in speaking against him.

His words took right on spot, prompting everyone to set aside their complaints and opinions as they listened to him.

"War is already upon us and there's nothing to gain from just putting up your own arguments that don't help for the sake of saving our continent from ruin. This isn't the time for any grudges from others. We're all in the same boat here and we're facing a much bigger enemy than we've ever encountered before and we need to act as a united group if we were ever to live through this." He spat.

"...Hyberion will oversee the operation. The plans for the war will be coming from him. Any suggestions must be properly brought out."

Looking towards his fellow friend, Wolfheim gave way for the new Chairman as he took over the spot and began discussing the current situation.

"Our plans for the war are already under way but we still have flaws and other things to discuss concerning the country's defense and the information about the enemy..."

He paused as he flicked his finger until a huge replica of the map appeared before him and landed on the huge table where everyone could see.

"...Concerning about the enemy's strength. The identity of the emperor is none other than Zeref."

Upon revealing the name, a couple of murmurs from the group voiced out in disbelief.

"Zeref? The Black Mage himself?"

"H-How is that possible?!"

"We don't know... According to our spies, they confirmed his identity and we all know that he intends to see the destruction of Ishgar. At the very least, we can confirm their general motive for now. We can all agree that he's our common enemy..."

"...Next are his so-called elites, the Spriggan 12. The information tells us that they are mages that guard the emperor himself and could rival with the same strength as that of the Four Heavenly Gods. And among them is one of our comrades who defected to join their side, God Serena."

Hyberion hung his head low alongside with other familiar mages who are somewhat acquainted with the aforementioned person.

On the other hand, the same rumble of murmurs filled the atmosphere as they talked about the traitor. A mix of resentment and confusion soon occupied the room.

"That traitorous bastard."

"He'll pay for betraying all of us."

"Is there any reason why he defected from us?" One of the guild masters raised a posing question as they pondered behind such an act.

"We don't know either... But we shouldn't let ourselves dispirited by this one betrayal. No matter what reason comes behind his actions, we don't have any choice but to see him as our enemy."

"...One last thing to verify is their army strength. In all honesty, the Alvarez empire is not to be underestimated. We already discovered their strongest mages but we have to worry about their sheer number of capable armies. Even with all the guilds of Ishgar combined, they still have the most number of people. And since our defenses were dismantled a year ago, they're going to muster all of their arsenal against us so this will be a hard fought battle that every one of us is going to fight for."

"...Now that we finished our plans, we're now going to tackle about the enemy's agenda. I'll leave the instructions to one of our best guild masters here in Fiore to explain the situation."

The vampire mage soon turned towards two people from behind as Erza walked in straight in front of all guild masters. Alongside with her is Makarov, the predecessor of the same guild the former was currently in.

"This is Erza Scarlet, one of our best mages in the country as also one of the members that contributed to the subjugation of the dark guilds a few days back. She had her expertise in terms of battle planning and strategy so this is the best time for her to show her thoughts about the subject and further explain the enemy's motives."

After exchanging introductions, the redhead cleared her throat as she began to speak.

"Ahem... As Lord Hyberion was saying, I shall explain about the enemy's real goal in invading Ishgar. Their first target would be here in this country as their first objective. Our spies have confirmed of the enemy's strength but the power of each Spriggan is not yet verified though we can see that they're not to be underestimated. If ever we encounter one of his elite guards, it's best to attack in groups rather than confront it alone. Keep that in mind..."

"Is there any reason why Zeref wants to conquer Ishgar? I mean, we all know the general motive but there must be a clear reason why he would go for Fiore first. Seven stands closest between Ishgar and Alvarez so it would make sense they would attack there first rather than here."

One of the guild masters raised their hand in question.

But before Erza could even explain herself, Warrod immediately took over the situation.

"That's certainly true but there's been of a tension between Fiore and Alvarez for quite some time. The failed attempt of the invasion 10 years ago was proof of that."

"Alvarez wanted anything that could boost their military power regardless of what country they attack. I think it's somewhere along that line that they wanted to obtain something. Fiore was their answer." Wolfheim added.

"It's not just the assets of gaining power, they must've noticed something that prompted them to launch an invasion towards us. Whatever their reasons are, the threat stays the same. We need to act together if we're ever going to win this."

Hyberion answered with a grim look.

The others also felt the same as the tension further builds up. A brief silence went by as they further thought about their decision.

"Well, it's not like we have any choice... Even if we're not told about this, anyone who dares to harm the people of Fiore is our enemy."

A voice resounded through the silence as they all turned to a familiar person that Erza is acquainted with.

"Sting..."

"Sabertooth will gladly take part of this war and will not hesitate to help our fellow comrades. We're not letting them into our shores. If it's war they want, we'll give them one."

The blonde-haired guild master answered in confidence as he slammed his fist down to the table, showing his unwavering determination to fight for their survival. The very same image that Erza usually see on a certain person resurfaced inside her head.

Seeing this, all other guild masters eventually regained the same confidence as they all shouted in unison.

"Well then, now that we're all set about the plans, it's time we focus on appointing our own leaders on different countries... The remaining Wizard Saints will be distributed in defending one country while the rest of us along with Jura, the new reformed Council will be stationed here. If there any questions regarding the plans, feel free to discuss it right in front of everyone."

And with that, the first meeting of all guild masters had dismissed.

...

The rest of the other guild masters went ahead to their respective guilds while other members of the council set out to other countries via teleportation to relay the information.

Erza gave a few breaths after experiencing a rather hard pressure from their assembly. This was her first time to actually spearhead a strategy and being part of a large meeting with all of the guild masters all over Fiore involved.

It's not like the usual S-Class job requests she usually take, seeing this is a battle between two continents on a massive scale. It all just made her a bit anxious throughout the meeting despite her best impression to not show it in front of everyone.

"How're you holding up?"

A voice soon called out to her as she turned back to see Makarov joining her.

"Master... It's alright. I think I'm just a bit overwhelmed with the fact of being part of something big as this. You don't suppose that you had this kind of experience before, have you?" She asked curiously.

"Nah, this is my first time as well. This is nothing compared to what happened at Phantom Lord. This is much bigger." Makarov contemplated.

"I guess you could say that. I still can't believe that this is all happening."

The two simply walked their way through the busy halls of the Magic Council headquarters as they slowly made their way to the exit.

"Well, life sure has its interesting way of making things complicated. You should be prepared to what comes next now that you're guild master."

"I still think that you're the one leading us, Master. I just can't picture myself being one."

"I understand your reason. It's just one of the things I felt as well after I was appointed as the new guild master years back. And I think I made the right choice of appointing my successor." He smiled.

"That's asking too much. Laxus could've been a better candidate." Erza sheepishly replied.

"He certainly does have the right qualities of being a guild master but I think you're more than qualified to take the spot. I'm sure the others don't seem to have any problems with it. You are a good leader, Erza."

"Yeah but... I still think about what's happened with Natsu." The red-haired mage soon frowned in thought.

The mention of their missing member also triggered them to change their expression from before as Makarov merely gazed at her in regret.

"What happened to Natsu was one of my failures as guild master. This isn't your mistake, to begin with. I was the one who failed to bring him back when it mattered so don't blame yourself on that. Plus, from what I think, he would be making his move very soon as well." He reassured.

"Do you really think he would side with us after all that's happened?" She voiced in doubt.

"Have faith in him. He might not be here but I'm sure that he doesn't want this country to be destroyed either." Makarov reassured.

"I hope that's true... I'll head back to the guild to inform the others about the preparations. Are you alright on your own here?"

"I'll be fine. I still have some matters needed to settle first. You go on ahead."

Hearing his response, the scarlet knight gave a nod before parting from him and went ahead towards their guild.

Makarov watched her disappear from the distance as he began to contemplate about his children's future. The mention of the pinkette still had some effects to some of the guild members, especially to those close to him.

They have no reason to hide the truth as the news about him not returning to Fairy Tail is shared amongst the others back at home. The reactions of his children about this sudden news were nothing but disbelief behind the pinkette's actions. There are others who wanted more information about what happened but he simply settled their questions by just stating that he would not come back at the moment.

The revelation of his change was, of course, concealed in secrecy as well and only the people who participated in the rescue mission knew the true course of the story.

Aside from the shocking news, the absence of their guild member also resulted in some major changes in the guild's atmosphere. The liveliness was not as prominent as it had been from last year and everyone was sitting on edge at the moment with the current war looming over the horizon.

Members of the disbanded Team Natsu refused to share any information with others about their missing comrade and had been quiet throughout the ordeal until now. Erza had been the only one managing the gloomy atmosphere between them.

Makarov could only point out in thought towards the person responsible.

It just made him realize a bit just how important Natsu was to everyone's lives. Not just to his close friends but to the other guild members as well. His boisterous side always keeps the fire lit inside their hearts. And now that the person responsible for keeping their bonds close together is gone, there isn't anyone who could bring back that same morale that used to overcome their despairs in the past.

The threat of the war from the other side just fuels up that tension and uneasiness.

"Thinking too much would make you age faster, Makarov..."

A familiar voice soon cut through his train of the thought as the short old man turned towards Warrod who came by the entrance.

"Lord Warrod."

"There's no need for any honorifics. We're all in the same situation though it would be much more comfortable if we could talk to each other normally."

The tree mage answered with a soft smile as he approaches him and stood by at the scenery where Makarov had been gazing about.

"What a terrible turn of events this has become. Thinking of a fact that Zeref himself would finally put his finger on this country is just too surprising for most of us."

"Aren't we all? But if we let him do his way and obtain Lumen Histoire. The world would end."

"That I can't deny... That's why everyone is coming together to stop him and his plans."

"That much is appreciated but to involve all countries, I don't think the First would like the idea of inviting people into our own problems. As much as we wanted to conceal that secret, we're risking the revelation of the true nature behind it. Mavis already told everyone back at the guild about the true nature of it but I don't know if that's the right decision." Makarov answered with a frown.

"Well, it's not that I'm fully agreed with this decision yet but we need as much help we can get if we were to fight Zeref and his army. One guild wouldn't stand a chance against a combined military empire that can rival against Acnologia."

"I just hope that nothing would come into trouble once everything has happened."

Makarov merely sighed. He had grown tired of the things that always bring harm to his children and his guild for a long time. He didn't want to turn the whole Ishgar against them just because they didn't want their secret being revealed just yet.

Warrod smiled underneath and patted the old man's shoulder in assurance as he began to speak.

"Don't worry, I'll do my best to help the guild even if it takes my whole life to do so. Mavis has done me a great favor in the past and I'll keep my word of repaying her for all she has done for us."

"That's reassuring, Lord Warrod." Makarov grinned softly. Their tension slowly subsided as the two former members of the same guild stood side by side, facing the distant horizon in anticipation.

"This would be the last time we might be able to see this scenery peacefully. What lies afterward would be the fight for our survival." Warrod started as soon as his expression turned serious all of a sudden.

A fight that will determine the future of mankind.

They cannot run away from this one. The biggest obstacle now lies ahead of them and they're going to fight till the very end in order to live on to the future and stop Zeref once and for all.

"Yeah... For the sake of my children's future, I will not stand in fear and I know that they too, can do the same even in the face of despair."

"We'll be ready for them..."

The two shared their sentiments before regaining their determination as they prepared for the upcoming war.

...

* * *

 ** _On a certain abandoned town..._**

The sight of townspeople roaming around the area is no longer an everyday sight. People have fled to the mountains in order to seek shelter and protection from the looming battle of the Alvarez empire. Most of their belongings were abandoned as they didn't have enough time to pack up and leave.

The town's activity has immediately stopped for good.

What remained to the once bustling town was only a long silence that replaced the lively chatters and noises of the people living in it.

There was not a soul to be found and the hollow wind blew across the desolate town in such a long length of time.

Houses and buildings were left abandoned and the stalls were deserted, leaving all kinds of things that required for a normal living.

Natsu and Sayla walked on the empty streets of the desolate place as they made their way towards the center of the town itself. Both are wearing their cloaks despite arriving in an abandoned place.

Only the sound of their footsteps was heard echoing from their surroundings and the town offered no such warm welcome to the two strangers.

They both stopped in their tracks as they turned to look at the town hall where most of the people flocked together during their peaceful days. What could be seen is nothing but the opposite of it.

"It looks like the rumors are true... People left in a hurry to avoid the war."

Sayla started as she unveiled her hood and began looking around.

"It's been like this all over the country. Sooner or later, this place will be a battleground. It made sense that they would abandon this place regardless of how much they're attached to it..."

Natsu answered as he walked a few steps ahead and knelt down near the abandoned stall. All sorts of belongings lay scattered around it and the pinkette grabbed a small doll toy which probably belonged from a child of the family that own the stall.

He examined the stall for a few more seconds before putting the toy down and went back to Sayla who was scanning the place vigilantly.

"There are no signs of any humans from a mile away. It looks like they left quite some time ago." She assumed, receiving a nod from her companion with his face donning a rather cautious look afterward.

"Yeah... Except for one."

Sayla seemed to notice it before ever since arriving into town, her eyes narrowed in response after taking heed of his words.

The two pressed forward as they followed the trail leading to the suspicious presence that they felt earlier.

They walked towards a narrow street leading towards the northeast of the town where they encountered several houses and buildings that were also left in the same state as that of the rest of the town.

Doors of every other buildings were barred open and some windows are seen either broken or open, probably due to the urgent evacuation. It's such a miracle that no one had dared ransacking the place with all these things lying around.

Eventually, they closed in towards the presence as their path led them to a small dead end where some piles of debris and other trash gathered altogether. Among those sightings was an unrecognizable person who sat at the center.

The tattered clothing of his body probably came from a huge fight alongside with his injured body as well. Dirt and other kinds of obscurities cover most of his body which was the reason behind the difficult attempt to identify the person.

His hair was also covered in dirt which only added to the uncleanliness of his appearance. Sayla merely narrowed her eyes as a result. The blonde color of its hair was noticed at first glance along with two protruding ear-like features around the side of his head.

The person seem to notice their arrival which prompted him to speak first.

"You won't find anything here, human... Go away and bother someone else."

His words were spoken as a sign of denying any sort of further interaction from the two though his voice was given away for Sayla to finally discern the person in front of her.

She stepped forward ahead of Natsu to speak.

"I see you're still kicking, Jackal... After all this time..." She uttered the person's name who was right in front of her.

"It's been a long time since I heard that name... Your voice... Is that you, Sayla?" Jackal tried to lift his head to meet her gaze in the distance.

"I am... And it looks like you've been having quite a time of your life, wallowing in this dreadful place."

"You're one to talk... Who do you think who's responsible for all of this? All because of one measly guild that destroyed all our plans, I was succumbed to this situation, forever living in shame in the eyes of the ones who I once called worthless beings."

"Still looking to blame someone as always... You never change."

"Don't screw with me, woman... You also failed in your part which makes you no different than me." He spat in irritation.

Sayla sighed at his retorts, seeing their conversation never left at reminiscing their pasts.

"And I guess this is what you come up after that loss."

Jackal chuckled again.

"Heh, you think that loss is just something we could easily pass? We lost everything. The guild, our members, even our purpose... After all that fight, we could not call ourselves demons if we can't defeat such weak humans." He raised his voice in disappointment.

"We underestimated them. It is because of our arrogance, we lost to them." Sayla truthfully answered.

"What's with that? Aren't you the same as me?"

"No, I'm not the same as you."

"Huh, just because you found yourself a slave and walking around like that doesn't change anything. It's a good thing Kyoka died otherwise; she would've been disappointed of what you've become." He grinned mockingly, hoping the demon girl to lash out at him in anger.

However, what he didn't expect was the former Tartaros member to look at him in silence as if pitying at his current situation.

Sayla heaved another sigh with her eyes closed for a moment before opening them again as she speaks.

"Kyoka has nothing to do of what I've become. Rather, I gave up everything that time after meeting someone I could hold more important than what I did in the past."

Then, her words just now surprised him even more. He heard this from a demon, not a human. For her to speak for herself and not letting herself affected of his insult isn't what he would expect from a member of the Nine Demon Gates whose purpose is to kill humans.

In a shocking response, Jackal could only stutter.

"W-What's with you all of a sudden? You speak like a human. Don't tell me you've fallen this low, Sayla?"

"..." The silent response prompted him to narrow his eyes in suspicion.

"I see... I get it now. Well, then what did you come here for? Gloat at me, is that it?"

"No, I'm not the one who came to you. He is." She stepped aside as soon as Natsu walked her way and finally revealed his face to him.

Jackal slowly widened his eyes in shock as soon as he remembered a certain person that he fought against a year back. The memories and the anger that is built because of the one person simply ignited right back in his mind as his body reacted almost immediately in front of him.

The reason for his loss and his downfall suddenly revealed himself right in front of him. The urge to move went fast and his strength suddenly returned back as if his injuries weren't a problem in the first place.

"You―!" In anger-induced voice, Jackal quickly raised his right fist and tried to punch Natsu who stood calmly at the incoming attack.

Unfortunately, his strength is nowhere near his prime self as his fist was easily stopped by the pinkette with his left hand. There was no such activation of his curse taking place. After all, anything that touches him becomes a living bomb but it seems like his curse didn't work on him.

"You... Why did you come here, you little bastard?!" He growled as he tried to throw another punch from his free arm only to be caught by the other hand as Natsu turned to look at him straight in the eye.

The former Nine Demon Gate member was confused at the unusual silent expression. From what he could remember, this person has a rather vigorous look on his face during their confrontation which later ended in his defeat.

Despite this, his rage towards him never changed.

"You... Do you have any idea how much we suffered because of you and your guild?! I've been wandering around looking for a purpose but I kept remembering how you destroyed it along with Tartaros!"

Natsu offered no reply but Sayla immediately intervened to explain.

"Jackal, calm down... We're here to talk."

"We? Don't tell me you sought help from this person who was one responsible for the destruction of all Etherious! Why are you here with him?"

"Set your personal grudge aside. I followed him willingly and you should listen to what he has to say."

"Why do you think I should follow you?! Haven't you forgotten that they killed Lord Mard Geer?!" He barked.

"I'm not the one who killed your leader. Zeref did."

This time, Natsu answered to his statement that left him surprised as his strength momentarily lost on his arms, eventually letting go of his fists from the pinkette due to the shocking revelation.

"W-W-What did you say? Z-Zeref himself, killed Mard Geer?"

He took a step back with a face full of disbelief at the information.

"That's right. Your very creator erased him from existence and saw him as nothing but a hindrance. All the rest of Tartaros have nothing in value to him in the first place."

Jackal then looked at him in contempt.

"Of course they are, ever since we lost to you and your allies. Do you have any idea how much I wanted to blow you up? And now you show your face here and wanted to talk to me about something. You have a death wish, don't you?"

"I'd rather see you try."

His answer went unexpected from the demon as he took as step back after hearing those words.

Rather, something in his voice made him instinctively step back for some reason. He didn't know but he somehow felt like this person is not as the same as that brat he fought in the past. It is as if he was hiding something malicious that even he himself would feel a sense of fear.

In response, his voice cracked.

"Kugh... A-Are you here to kill me?"

"No, I rather think about the opposite. You're joining with me."

"Huh? What makes you think I'm joining you? Do you have any idea how much I resented you after that fight? That goes same for that celestial spirit girl as well!" Jackal answered sarcastically as if he pretended to not hear his statement just now.

"I don't care about what you say and I don't give a damn to your hatred. But you should already realize that you're not in control of the situation here."

"Am I?" Jackal smirked as he suddenly threw a punch right in front of the pinkette's face. This time, Natsu didn't offer any sort of action to defend against it.

A deafening sound cracked through the silent town as the punch finally landed on its mark. The blonde-haired demon smirked as the fist connected through after momentarily recovering his strength but was immediately taken by surprise as Natsu remained unfazed from his punch.

The fist didn't deal any sort of the damage to his face as Natsu merely stood right in front of him with a dark expression.

However, his evil smirk returned.

"You sure don't get it do you? Anything I touch turns into a bomb." The source of his confidence was found on the curse mark appearing on his cheek as Jackal jumped away from the vicinity as the curse begins its activation.

"Go Boom!"

...

In a matter of seconds, the curse mark shone bright before emitting a massive explosion, destroying the dead end and along with several houses aligned in it.

Jackal landed right on the street as he looked towards the position where the pinkette was before being engulfed in the blast. Dust clouds kicked up in the air and slowly started to settle down.

He didn't think about the other demon girl who was right next to the pinkette as he sees her as a nuisance to this fight. He didn't care if she was caught in the explosion. All he had to do is to exact his revenge against the man who defeated him.

However, just as his victory was assured, his eyes once again widen in shock as he saw Natsu standing unscathed in the middle of the blast radius, seemingly unaffected by his curse.

"W-Wha―"

Natsu soon turned his eyes towards him with a silent look. His appearance was slowly being revealed from the obscurity.

Jackal's surprise didn't stop there as he noticed two horns protruding from the pinkette's head as well. This is the first time he actually saw something in him.

It almost seemed like―

"A demon... Just what are you?!"

He shouted but he was cut off as he felt a sharp object pointing at his back. His eyes turned at a corner as he saw Sayla with her hand morphed into a shape of a drill, pointing towards him.

Jackal didn't even notice her presence from the attack. Her power isn't the same as she once had during the last year.

This level of power could go beyond him by a mile. He cursed inwardly as he realized his powerlessness against a fellow Etherious whose thought to be just in the same level as him.

But that isn't his current problem right now. The murderous intent in her eyes says that she's very serious. He knew she will not hesitate to pierce her blade into his chest if she wasn't ordered to. That sort of expression isn't something he would see from her.

"Naturally, I would've not tolerated what you've done but if I do so now, then Natsu would be disappointed to see an Etherious gone to waste."

"Kugh... You traitor―"

"I suggest you keep your mouth shut and listen or you won't want to see our master release his judgement on you."

Hearing that, Jackal felt his eyes popping out in wide shock as he looked back at the pinkette in disbelief.

"O-O-Oi... Don't tell me... This brat is..."

"That's right... He's our true master. The guild master of Tartaros."

"E-E.N.D." Jackal muttered in disbelief.

Natsu soon walked over to him without changing his dark expression. Jackal felt the same fear he had on him when he first confronted him a year back. The reason behind his fear was because of this. The strongest Etherious created by Zeref himself.

The leader of the Tartaros, E.N.D.

His confidence shattered like glass as he walked towards him, feeling a sense of dread spreading throughout his body like a coat of poison. He can't even begin to move because of extreme fear. It's like being paralyzed right in the face of a monster that he can't hope to defy with.

This is how Sayla felt in him after that fight in the Alvarez. Even the Etherious themselves would tremble at him in just a gaze. It's no wonder why he was the strongest Etherious among them.

Jackal collapsed down on the ground looking up in fright. He landed on his back as Natsu stood right in front of him. His eyes stared down on him as if looking at an insect. His intimidating presence was just too much for him to handle so he threw all away his pride and cowered in fear.

"Y-You kidding me... W-W-Why is the leader of Tartaros siding with the humans?! Why did you destroy the very guild you created?! You're an Etherious, aren't you? So why did you betray all of us?!"

Even though in the face of an overwhelming fear, the former Tartaros member shouted in disdain towards him, asking about his actions.

He was supposed to be the one destroying the humans alongside with them. They all did this for his resurrection so why did he stop them, his very own allies?

Jackal didn't know. He was only mad at the fact that the person responsible for their destruction was none other than the one who assembled the Etherious race.

He could only clench his fists in vain as he couldn't make up any answers.

At that moment, Natsu finally dissipated his powers and merely sighed before speaking. The dreaded malice was gone in an instant.

"Tartaros is well beyond change at that time. Despite of me not being aware of that or even the one who created it, I was glad that I made the right decision. Mard Geer saw the path of the Etherious as nothing but harboring the seeds of destruction that's why I destroyed it along with its history." He muttered as he expressed his actions at that time. Sayla remained silent as she felt his feelings as he said those words.

"Then what was our purpose? I-If our actions have been wrong then what was the meaning of our existence until now? If we're not demons from the Book of Zeref, what then?" Jackal spoke, wanting to know the answer from their master.

A short silence went by as Natsu thought about his question.

...

"Who knows?" He turned away as he gazed at the sky in deep thought. "Etherious are not that different from humans. Zeref made sure of that and that's what led to my existence and to what I am until now... I think it's possible to change your destiny if you wished for it."

His words were genuine at heart.

Being created as someone who was meant to kill, Natsu tried to change what he was. Sayla's predicament in the past was similar to that kind of situation. The huge change that happened to her after realizing everything from him.

She found her way to live again. Not because of something that she would be bound to follow but rather something that she decided on her own.

Natsu gave her a choice at that time. And it was the first time she ever felt yearning for such a change. She too, wanted to pursue the future well beyond from just being created to kill its creator and the life that she didn't knew existed.

She looked forward for such a future where she would come not as a demon that everyone feared but as a person that Natsu saw in her during those hard times.

This also goes the same as changing Tartaros for the better.

...

"Tartaros may be gone but its leader isn't. The Etherious race is not yet finished that's why I'm gathering the surviving members in order to prepare for war."

Jackal soon turned towards him in confusion.

"War?"

"A few days from now, a huge empire will march its way here in Fiore and will kill everything, including us. Zeref is the one leading the attack."

The blonde-haired demon widened his eyes in surprise.

"Z-Zeref?"

"That's right... We encountered him during one of our missions from another continent and it seems like he was already gathering his own personal army to destroy every living being here on Earthland." Sayla spoke.

"Well, isn't that a good thing? I mean, it shouldn't be our problem now that Zeref finally brings annihilation to the humans? Why else would we Etherious have to be involved in it?" Jackal asked in confusion.

"This is also our fight." Sayla interjected.

"Why? Is it because our guild master was once a human that he wants to help them even though they're the ones who destroyed us in the first place? Why should we risk our necks for those stupid bastards?" Jackal expressed his contempt after realizing the reason behind their arrival to him.

Sayla was about to answer back until Natsu cut her off and simply stretched his hand sideways right in front of her just before she could lash at him for his attitude.

He knelt down right in front of him before speaking.

"I'm not asking for any forgiveness and I don't care about your resentment towards me but... if you run away from this one, then you're not like the demon I fought back then."

"W-What?"

"Soon, this place will become a battlefield between two continents. And by that then, what are you going to do?"

"What...I'm...going...to...do?

"I intend to destroy Zeref not because I'm a demon created for that sole purpose but because I wanted to. I will end his evil actions once and for all. If you don't want to come along, then we'll leave you alone."

"Natsu!" Sayla widened her eyes after what she just heard from the pinkette.

"I won't force you to join with me and I will leave you alone but... if you so much harm any innocent people again, I'll make sure I won't leave any of your trace from the face of the earth."

Jackal immediately knew he's not just threatening him judging from the dark look on his face. His onyx black eyes masked a hidden dark gaze that could easily bring any strong men down to his knees in fear.

The pink-haired mage stood up and turned to walk away as soon as he imparted those words to him. Sayla followed suit, seemingly in disbelief to his decision.

But just as they're about to walk away―

"Wait!"

The two departing demons made a stop as they glanced back to Jackal who was already standing.

"I'm not sure about this war that you speak of right now but... I would not let you say those words about me, END."

Initially thought as a threat, Sayla tried to intervene but was stopped as Natsu held her back and looked at the demon with anticipation. A tiny smirk slowly builds up around his lips as he watched him.

"Hoh? Then are you going to prove me wrong?"

"Don't get me wrong. I don't agree you being our master but I just couldn't turn down your words about me being a coward. As a proud member of the Nine Demon Gates, I will not let that slide!" He shouted defiantly.

"You... You don't know what you're getting at, Jackal." Sayla glared at him in contempt. Jackal ignored her threat and simply gazed at Natsu with a renewed gaze.

"You said that I can't harm any innocent humans, right? But if I go along with you, I can kill those who you see as enemies, am I right?" He asked.

Natsu remained silent as he heard his answer.

Then after a few seconds, he resumed his pace.

"We're moving..."

With that, Jackal released a contented sigh. Sayla was still unsure about the decision but nevertheless, she complied with the pinkette's actions and walked alongside with him. Jackal eventually followed them in a fair distance as they left town to locate the other surviving Etherious.

* * *

 ** _The next day..._**

The journey between Natsu and Sayla continued as they try to find other surviving Etherious that can join their side for the war. With Jackal finally on their side, their prowess seemed to have increased.

There's still a huge gap between Jackal and Natsu since they were once enemies in the past. The former would give a fair distance away from the latter, avoiding as much conversation from him as possible. After all, it's all shocking to know that he once battled the strongest Etherious and still lived to tell the tale.

While Sayla remains casual around the pinkette, a hidden awkwardness filled around Jackal as he watched them from behind.

As he had witnessed it firsthand, this is the only time he could see the demon girl able to act different from what she was back then. He usually sees her to be submissive towards Kyoka and display a rather strong affection for the Etherious race but it seems like it isn't the case anymore.

What made her change in those times?

He suspected that it has something to do brat, judging from her attitude towards him. Moreover, he also suspected that there's something strange about how she walks alongside him despite him being their guild master.

However, he kept those thoughts aside as he followed their pace.

...

Soon afterwards, they arrived at an abandoned cavern. The trio stopped for a moment as they scanned the whole place in caution.

"Torafuzar's last location would be here. I can guess that he would not bother relocating that often since this is a pretty desolate place for humans to tread on."

Sayla examined the structure of the large cavern. It seems like it leads down to a dark abyss where the said demon could be located. They could also hear a faint sound of a water streaming down to a larger body of water, assuming it as a pond or some sort.

"I'll go alone this time. It will be better to explain things easy if I'm alone with him." Natsu proceeded down before Sayla could have a say about his decision.

"Muuuoooo... He's been pretty hasty nowadays..." Sayla could only peevishly pout after being left out by her lover.

Out on the back, Jackal still continued to observe her as he sits down on a large smooth rock surface. Apart from her expression just now made him confused, suspecting her actions more than ever which prompted him to speak.

"I know it's a bit late to ask about this but... Is there something going on between you two? You look like you were acting all too familiar with each other even though he was our guild master. Could you have some sense of restraint or he might just blow you away into pieces." He warned.

Sayla turned to look at him nonchalantly.

"I don't need to... Rather than that, you should be worrying yourself on that. I don't know what you're planning but if you as much try to harm him again, I swear I'll never hesitate again."

Jackal brushed off the intimidation and merely looked away in irritation.

"Always pissed off as ever. You were more possessive than I thought you were with Kyoka. What makes that master of ours special to you anyway? You forget that he was one of those people who destroyed our guild, remember? Even Kyoka and other Etherious died in their hands. Don't you have any say to that after banding together with him?" He asked seriously.

"I did... Even before I first met him, I wondered the same thing."

"Then why did you follow him?"

"It's because... he showed me something."

"Something?"

"Something that is more valuable than just being a demon. At that point, I could only follow him along that path. And it even changed me from what I am."

Jackal didn't offer any reply and merely listened to what she said. He was curious about Natsu as well so he wanted to know behind his true nature.

Seeing how she talks about him made him think that he was different from the rest of books created by Zeref.

No one has really discovered behind the nature of the Book of END. In its existence, it is their guild master and the one who created Tartaros along with other demons. But no one has ever witnessed its true form nor do they know what kind of demon he is. He just couldn't believe that the demon inside that book was none other than the pinkette himself.

What made him become a human back then remains a mystery.

Jackal couldn't help but ponder in thought.

Putting aside his personal grudge towards him, he was interested to how he was one of them without realizing it. And how it all ended with them clashing with their guild master which resulted in their defeat.

It's strange to think about how futile their efforts back then, trying to revive their true guild master who then tried to stop them from doing so in the first place. The very same person who created Tartaros was the one who brought it down as well.

What an ironic end to a guild built to resurrect their supposed sealed guild master.

Concluding that, the blonde-haired demon simply closed his eyes.

"I see... I'm not sure if I can look it that way. I just can't picture myself becoming like that easily."

Sayla frowned.

"Are you still going to hold on to that belief?"

"Yeah... It's been my only goal since the beginning. I'm not going to betray you or him but I'm not also going to follow his path. That's all I can say for now."

It wasn't an answer she was expecting. Sayla thought he could change a bit after seeing Natsu but it seems like he doesn't want to.

"I guess that's your reason for coming along. To kill him."

"That I am. If what you say is true about Zeref then this will be the perfect time to finish it as well."

There's no need to reconsider his decision. Sayla knew she couldn't convince him nor does Natsu wants him to.

"I guess there's no changing your mind then."

"Yeah... More importantly, there's something I've been wanting to ask you about for quite awhile." He changed the topic, his eyes gazing at her in curiosity.

"What?"

"You got the same scent as that of him. Although I assume that it would come from your constant travels together, I don't think scents mingle that fast with one anoth―"

His voice was cut off as his whole body was sent down to the ground by the use of Macro. The demon's face was buried right down in the dirt as Sayla glared at him as if he touched a very sensitive topic. Despite that show of intimidation, a shade of red was seen on her face in between her cheeks as she tried to hide it in.

Jackal eventually emerged from the ground, spitting out chunks of rock dirt from his mouth before glaring right back at the person responsible.

"What the hell was that for bitch!?"

"Please watch that vulgar mouth of yours or I'll shut it myself." She warned.

"What's your problem anyway? I just asked a question about your scent but you went up straight smashed my whole body down to the ground!"

"I don't want you spitting out vulgar words in front of him."

"What's with that answer? All I did is just ask a simple question. He's not even here..."

At that moment, he realized.

What she was trying to imply to him in not saying anything about that question made him realized something between them two. A devious grin escaped from his lips as he looked at the woman in suspicion.

"Don't tell me―You sly woman... I never thought you did that to him. And I thought Kyoka was your true master... Man, I was so wrong." He began to chuckle underneath his breath.

"Do you want to get sliced into pieces?" She threatened. This time, the blush on her face was gone and merely replaced by a dark and chilling gaze.

Jackal knew better than provoking him so he simply let it go and raised his hands in defeat.

"Yes, yes... I get it. I might not make it to the war if I kept bugging you about it. I won't pry onto your own matters."

At that, Sayla's threatening gaze vanished. Her normal expression returned and left the wondering demon alone, probably lost any interest in continuing their conversation any further.

Although it might come as a surprise to him, Jackal didn't want to get on her bad side. As much as he wanted to ask them about it, he'd rather have his neck intact.

A drip of sweat appeared right on the side of his head as he watched the woman walk away from sight.

"Man, she's just like a lot like Kyoka, only scarier."

At that moment, Jackal had two things to fear as a demon.

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile... Back at Vistarion..._**

A huge assembly as taking place at one of the rooms of the palace. A huge round table acquainted by twelve high chairs designed for people with strong and powerful positions within the ranks of nobility and power.

One additional chair stands different from the rest as it symbolizes full authority above all else.

Zeref sat in its place whereas the other twelve was merely occupied to a number of seven people. Standing beside him was Yajeel, the minister of the Alvarez Empire.

"Seven, huh? In response to a sudden call, this should be a favorable result." He stated.

"Actually, Lord Neinhart is in the palace but it seems there's a bit of a problem in his summons."

"It's alright... We can made due with this kind of number."

"Your Majesty, I would like to have a say in this matter. Ignoring the summons of the emperor is unbecoming to a member of the Twelve." Invel started speaking in behalf of the Spriggan's inaction towards the meeting.

"This should be fine for now, Invel... I even came all the way to the north just to see something spectacular. At very least, you should thank me for saving August." Eileen joined the conversation. Two female mages stood behind her, serving as her guards.

"..."

The person in question remained silent as he simply turned towards his newly reconstructed hand that was lost during the recent fight.

"As you all know, the time has come... to begin our invasion on Ishgar." Zeref began declaring his decision.

Others looked at him in a mix of different reactions.

"What a painful thing to do at this time of hour." Brandish voiced her disinterest in response.

"Don't be like that, Brandish. You promised me to listen to my orders, am I right?"

"It's not that I'm not interested. It's just that the name of the continent is reminding me something."

"Is it because you lost your subordinate from someone in that continent?" Eileen asked though with a sadistic grin plastered on her face.

"Tch..."

The green bob haired mage clicked her tongue as soon as her words hit the spot, prompting her to slip her expression of irritation towards the scarlet-haired witch.

"Well, it's not like there's nothing she could do about it if only she could've dispatched her enemies that easily instead of showing off in front of them."

Another female voice butted in the conversation as Brandish turned towards her in scorn.

"I don't want you of all people talking about me, Dimaria."

The woman called Dimaria smiled lightly at her member's verbal suffering throughout the conversation.

"Is that so? I thought we could've get along this time... It seems like it's not happening because of your foul mood."

"What did you say?!"

 **THUD***

A loud thump on the table silenced the heated argument.

"Silence! We're in a middle of a meeting with the emperor." August's authoritative voice echoed throughout the room.

All noise died down along with his words, prompting Zeref to continue his discussion. His eyes turned towards another member who was keeping silent throughout the meeting.

"God Serena, is it painful for you to have your homeland destroyed?"

The person in question didn't seem to react but after a few seconds, he suddenly stood up. A spotlight was suddenly shone down on him for some reason before doing some flashy gestures and shared his response in a cool voice.

"IT...IS...NOT...!"

Witnessing his rather flamboyant attitude, others merely looked at him indifferently. Only Brandish gave a rather disgusted look on his response.

"Gross..."

"Thanks!"

He took her insult as a compliment. A really strange person with a rather strange personality. It's such a mysterious occurrence that someone like him is the strongest in their continent. He almost looked like a disappointment at first glance if they took note of his unusual remarks.

Yet still, he was recognized as one of the powerful mages existed to day.

Judging him from the outside appearance might be the last thing anyone would've regret when facing him in battle.

"Your Majesty, it's time for Ragnarok to begin."

"Well said, August... It is as he says, our objective will be the Fairy Heart and the annihilation of Ishgar. Humanity must perish."

A couple of words were mixed in his declaration.

"So it has begun, huh?"

"We will let no single human alive in that continent."

"Let's then get down to planning."

All present members of the twelve seemed to agree well on his decision which then brings him to the next topic.

"Well then, let us get one thing straight before we plan our strategies across Ishgar. I'm sure you all heard of what happened in the last few days."

Zeref reminded as other members immediately narrowed their eyes with a grim look.

"Is it about that demon brother of yours?" Eileen guessed with a casual quirk in one of her eyes as she gazed at the Black Mage with anticipation.

"Eileen... When speaking with Your Majesty, maintain a proper addressing towards His Majesty's conversations." Invel reprimanded though it was easily ignored by the scarlet woman.

Zeref's gaze turned dark as he began speaking.

"It is as she said, this matter concerning about my little brother is a much needed attention before anything else. I advise against any engagement towards him throughout the war. This is for the prevention of anymore casualties that might harm the Spriggan Twelve."

"Let me ask for something as well... What's this deal about your brother and all? I might've missed something interesting on my way here." God Serena asked curiously.

"Simply put, Your Majesty had some previous creations with the beings called Etherious in hopes of killing him. His little brother was his perfect project in the midst of those experimentations. The strongest known demon called, E.N.D." Invel explained.

"E.N.D." God Serena muttered in a low undertone. His expression says that of a curious person towards a strange name.

"Etherious Natsu Dragneel... He made quite an attack here in Vistarion and caused a lot of damage despite our strong military strength inside the capital. This is the reason why Your Majesty wanted to bring this warning beforehand. He's already a threat that needs to be dealt with caution."

"A foolish creation that merely added to our own set of problems aside from Acnologia. This is why I hate people with lingering ties with their family." Eileen spat out mockingly which in turn caused Invel to raise his power in response for such a rude reply.

"Settle down, Invel." Zeref ordered in which the man entitled as the Winter General managed to calm down upon his orders.

"As of now, E.N.D. is just as dangerous as Acnologia. Any sort of individual confrontation is strictly advised. Our goal is Fairy Heart which centered around the guild in Fiore. That's why we'll be going out in an all-out war against them..."

"...Every one of us is going to fight and bring destruction to Ishgar. The Dragon King Festival is about to begin. The battle between mankind, the Black Mage, and the Black Dragon is at hand. Begin advancing the troops."

...

A couple of minutes passed and Natsu eventually returned to the surface with Torafuzar behind him. Sayla and Jackal eventually met up with them as they saw them appearing from the cavern.

It seemed like the talking went well between two demons and Torafuzar seemed to understand and acknowledge Natsu as their true guild master.

Much like his personality, the large demon values loyalty and welfare of his fellow Etherious above all else. The events that transpired on the last year seem to pay him no mind at all. Even knowing Natsu as END doesn't seem as a shocking revelation to him. Instead, he expressed his desire to serve him loyally and vowed to fulfill his role as one of the Nine Demon Gates that should stand alongside with him.

"That went fast as expected." Jackal spoke as soon as the two arrived.

"He's easy to understand the situation and doesn't have any problems on the conditions." Natsu explained.

"Well, that's just who he is... It's been awhile since we saw each other, Torafuzar." Jackal scratched his head indifferently.

"Jackal... Sayla as well... Does that mean we're the only surviving members?"

"That might be the case... I'm sure you heard about what happened to Mard Geer and the others."

The large demon nodded in response.

"I've heard everything..."

"And what is your answer?"

"I follow our master wherever he goes. His orders shall be mine to fulfill."

A straight-to-the-point kind of loyalty he expected from him. It seems like there's no problems about him joining on their side now.

"There are still other demons out there in hiding so we shall talk along the way and prepare ourselves for the upcoming war. Let's go."

Natsu turned towards the horizon as the other demons followed behind him.

"However, I didn't think we would be in this kind of group now... after all that fight." Jackal smirked.

"Don't complain... Natsu and I needed as much allies to fight against the Alvarez Empire. This is only option we had." Sayla replied.

"Heh, I never seen you this happy before... even though we're headed straight to our own deaths in this kind of number."

"No one's going to die... If there's someone, it'll be him alone." Natsu answered as his eyes turned straight towards the far distance.

...

Zeref shook his head as he gazed over to the locket which he took from his pocket. An image of the past began reminding of such nostalgia from within. A person whom he held dear but couldn't in fear of activating the curse of the death god.

A dark expression loomed all over him as he made his decision.

Their imminent clash is inevitable.

..

..

"I'm coming for you, Zeref."

"It's too late for you, Natsu."

* * *

 **A/N: And there we have it. The stage is set for the war to begin. Let me just remind you that there will be character deaths in this story so for those who had strong attachments to some of the characters of the FT world, you've been warned. As much as I wanted to keep this lighthearted as possible, the reality of war is not as simple as overcoming your enemies with the power of friendship. Don't get me started on this BS because it is BS as it is in the canon. A lot of good material is wasted on this arc to be honest and that's just my opinion so keep your horses on a twitch.**

 **And also, I apologize for my lack of response and replies to all my readers who shared their thoughts with me openly in my stories. As much as I wanted to express my thanks to each one of you, a lot of my time is getting taken from the upcoming finals. Even my friends call it 'Hell's month' so it's easy to understand. However, I have not given up in updating all of my stories so you can be assured to that. Additionally, I could only generally express my thanks towards you all in this note in every chapter to save time. (Yes, I'm getting tired with replying at times, don't judge me) Lol**

 **Anyways, enough with the bullshittery apologies and sweet words from me. Other stories will have to take more time to update so bear with me guys. I'm doing as best as I can to update each and every one of these. I'm just one writer so don't pressure me with constant replies on updating this and that, okay? Cool : )))**

 **And lastly, thanks again for your wonderful support, my other story of Two Dragons is also getting the same support as this is so I don't mind supporting them for more and also to my other stories as well.**

 **I'll see you guys in the next chapter. Thanks for reading ^^**

 **\- The wiErDos send their regards...**


	22. The Day Our World Ended

**A/N: Sup guys, wiErD here and I've got another chapter for you all.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for my plots. Everything else is owned by Hiro Mashima. Support the official release.**

* * *

 **\- The Day Our World Ended -**

Silence befell on the town of Magnolia as the huge bells of the Cardia Cathedral had once in its lifetime fell quiet. The streets that flourish with townspeople had finally deemed empty just as one of the many towns and cities left abandoned by its inhabitants to flee into the mountains. Not a single person is seen roaming around and the only thing left standing are the buildings and houses that they once called home.

All current lifestyles were interrupted by the news of the invasion and the country that lived in peace finally descends into war.

Only the capable mages remain guarding the abandoned town and the one responsible for keeping the area intact against the invasion is the guild that resides in it.

Lucy walked through the empty streets alongside with Happy as they resumed their patrol duties throughout the day. It's still at the height of the noon and the evacuation had just been carried out a few hours ago.

With the plans made by Mavis alongside with Erza and Makarov, everyone is obliged to help out in any way they can in order to keep the town safe.

The two had just finished their route and are about to shift duties with the other members.

"Huummmmppphhhaaaaaah! Glad we finished that! I've never been so used to long walks such as this." The blonde-haired woman stretched her arms upward as she flexed her muscles to relieve the growing stiffness.

Her reply didn't do much reaction to her next companion as he floats beside her with his wings unfurled in a steady manner. His head hung low as his eyes stared right onto the streets, seemingly in deep thought. Unlike from how he usually acts towards her, it seems like he's not getting out of it anytime soon.

"Happy?"

"U-Uh, yes... Sorry for ignoring you, Lucy." The Exceed made a dispirited response which then caused her to worry in the process. Ever since that incident, Happy could not even make any sense of reaction until necessary.

"Are you still thinking about Natsu?"

Realizing through his thoughts, Happy could only frown. His boisterous nature disappeared in him for quite a long time, seeing that he always smiles at most times.

"Hnn..." He nodded, answering her question.

"I'm sorry, we couldn't bring him back but... I know there are a lot of things probably going on with him that he didn't want us involved. I'm sure there's a reason why he's doing this, you know."

She tried to reassure him as best as she can. After all, she didn't want him to think that Natsu is beyond reach. They both knew he had something that he didn't want to involve them or any of their friends but after seeing what they just saw back at Vistarion, it's probably difficult to think what the pinkette had gone himself to.

The transformation that his body had undergone posed a rising factor to them. And they all knew what the dragons did when they were inside their children's bodies; to prevent the process of dragonification.

―And something like that had just happened to him as they both saw the hideous change surrounding his half body as if he was slowly turning into one.

It's a fear that they didn't want to come to light even with all the things going on between them.

For all they know, Natsu might not be able to come back if the transformation continued any further than now.

Lucy wanted to help but not knowing where he is right now sounds like a hopeless effort.

They didn't even know what he's doing right now.

That wasn't just her concerns. The fact that Natsu killed someone with his hands stands as a shocking revelation to them.

He knew he wouldn't do that kind of thing even if he vents out his anger at someone. He's just not that kind of person. Regardless of whose opponent he's facing, he would never cross the line of taking someone else's life.

Surprisingly, it was never that way from the start.

There's little too time to explain himself right now and they both feared that even if he goes back, what will he say about the crimes he committed to killing all those people during that last few months?

Can he really stand against the weight of those lives he took without remorse?

She and Happy didn't know the answer. They don't know how the future would play out.

...Not until this war is over.

"I just wish he would come home soon..." He muttered in an undertone. His ears flopped down, indicating his current emotions.

Lucy went to hug him in return. The Exceed was slightly taken aback but inwardly accepted the hug afterward.

"We all are... We just need to wait for a bit and explain himself when he gets back."

"Hnn... I miss him cooking fish for me." A small tear streaked down from one his eyes as he snuggled into her embrace.

But as they were sharing their thoughts about their missing member, they were interrupted by the arrival of another pair approaching behind them.

"Lucy-san... Happy..." A timid voice resounded from the back, prompting the two to glance about and saw familiar faces.

"Wendy... and Carla... What are you two doing here? I thought you were staying at Fairy Hills." Lucy started with a gasp.

"We kinda wanted to volunteer with the patrolling too. And we ran to you along the way." The petite bluenette replied almost immediately. A light smile traced across her lips as she spoke.

"Is it really okay for you to be wandering around town? Master might need your help in the guild for something."

"Wendy insisted going anyways so I can't stop her though. After all, we're all here about Natsu." Carla chimed in.

"I see..." Lucy understood what she meant as they all stared right into open space, thinking.

There was a short pause of silence between them until Wendy started breaking up the awkward atmosphere.

"I wonder... if Natsu-san is doing okay..." She asked, catching everyone's attention.

"If you mean okay, I'd say he's out there trying to find some guys he wanted to beat." Lucy lightly joked which earned a few chuckles from the two as they felt a little bit relieved after that conversation.

Well, at least it's not as depressing as it would seem now that they felt their atmosphere lighting up quite a bit.

"I guess, that's just who he is..." Wendy giggled in thought.

"It would be better if Gray was there to see it though... Or they might just ramble onto each other like they used to." Carla added.

"What's this about me?"

"G-Gray!"

The group suddenly looked back and saw the ice mage alongside with Juvia as they came into view. It seems like they got caught in their conversation. They didn't even notice the two appearing from somewhere.

"Yo!"

The cool mage passed a wave from the group while the water mage tagged along from behind his back. Within seconds, they finally caught up with the group.

"Juvia-san's here too."

"It's good for Juvia to see everyone happy for some reason." The water mage smiled.

"Well, we were just talking about Natsu and Gray though... You know, thinking about the old times." Lucy spoke with a smile.

"I see... That explains why I heard my name all of a sudden." Gray scratched his head nonchalantly.

"What brings you two here?" Carla proceeded to ask.

"We're up in this area for patrol duty but we were just finished with our shift so we decided to take a break once in a while." He explained.

"Well, walking around the streets surely kills your legs, doesn't it? I honestly didn't like any long day strolling but there is a war going on so it can't be helped though, right?" Lucy chuckled in response.

"You said it... Even though they said that we should prepare, I've seen no sign of enemies yet."

"Master said that the enemy is quite large in terms of number and power. Even he didn't know much about the other Spriggans except the ones he told us before." Juvia added.

"Well, that depends whether Natsu was able to pull himself off against that Spriggan. At the very least, we won't need to worry about more if he somehow manages to take him down." Gray's eyes slowly narrowed all of a sudden as he spoke.

Everyone soon fell their thoughts about the pinkette as they all looked towards the horizon with concerned faces.

"He's... alright, isn't he?"

Wendy wanted to ask, hoping to not think about the worst case possible that might happen to him if he didn't manage to escape the battle. For all they know, he could've been defeated, judging from what they felt on that Spriggan's immense magic. In the worst case, he might've gone imprisoned in the process and it's no doubt that they might use him to lower down their guard once they show up.

However, Natsu isn't that kind of guy.

Of all the people they know, they knew better than him about not backing down without a fight.

If it's about tenacity and persistence, Natsu would've topped them off in an instant. That goes the same for their enemies as well if they tried to capture him. Plus, he still has that one Etherious right beside him so it's hard to think that they were captured by Alvarez and didn't manage to find their way back home.

"Don't worry, he's not someone that would be easily beaten. If anything comes to mind, it would be Erza punishing the life out of him for shoving us away. Plus, there's that Tataros girl with him. If what Master said is true then she must be on his side." Lucy reassured with a smile.

"Well, I guess..."

The group conversation continued for awhile, not noticing the sudden change of the ice mage's expression at the mention of the demon girl in the midst of the conversation.

...

At the thought of the Etherious, Gray could not help but show his dark expression as he pondered about his former rival.

The scene that he had witnessed back at Alvarez and the transformation he underwent.

―There's no mistaking it.

Those features closely resembled nothing but a demon. His transformation was closely similar to that of Deliora or any other demons they fought back then. Although most of his body resembled that of a dragon, his appearance gave a malevolent presence; instilling fear and terror to whoever sees it.

Gray at that time, felt that terror and it made him realize something.

Looking down, he balled his fist tight as he tried to suppress the frustration.

 _'Natsu... Right until now, I never really knew all about you... Is this what you wanted to show me?'_ His thoughts pondered for a moment while at the same time, realizing how much he didn't know about his rival other than being a fellow guildmate and a trusted friend. It dawned in his mind of how much he didn't know about him personally as anything except a competitive rival in the guild.

Anything other than that was a blank slate.

The same could probably go for the others as well although they just didn't realize it yet.

Gray didn't plan to let them know either way. Telling them would only doubt their feelings for the pinkette and it may result in them not being able to convince him to return back soon. For all it's worth, it's him being with them is the only thing important to them.

However, this doesn't change anything else either. The answer to Natsu's reason for doing all of this still remains unanswered. Sooner or later, they would have to clash again and he's unsure what path should he take once he confronts him again. He would later come to decide whether he should spare him or not. The true goal of fulfilling his promise looms closer to him. The only thing left would be his decision without his friends' say about the matter.

His eyes looked once more to his friends somehow happily talking to each other. Their faces, adored with smiles and hope and all the things they treasured together as close comrades, all shown right in front of him.

Gray's heart sank at the proceeding thought; it will be the last time he'll ever see it once he confronts his rival in the battlefield.

He can't tell them―not until he proves that the one he was searching for was truly him.

―That he's...

His right hand suddenly closed to a balled fist where the mark of his Devil Slayer Magic was located in his arm.

"Is something wrong, Gray-sama?" Juvia, having to notice the sudden change of his expression looked up in worry.

"Ah, it's nothing. Don't worry... I'm just thinking of something."

He reassured, putting aside his thoughts which somehow made her nod in response while almost letting his emotions seen by others.

Leaving at that, the rest of the group continued to reminisce their pasts.

* * *

 **...**

* * *

A few minutes passed and the group eventually began wrapping up their brief reunion.

"Ah, we've taken too much time now. We better head back to our patrols." Juvia looked at her watch as she noticed their shift finally over.

"You're right... We can't let our guard down... The enemy is much stronger than all of us had encountered before. We have to give everything we've got in order to protect the First and everyone as well."

They all nodded as soon as they regained their determination.

The group eventually dispersed as they returned to their duties, scanning the town for any hostile movement that might've gone past their detection.

They can never be too careful right now since they're facing Zeref and his army.

The invasion already began and there's no telling what might come after if they weren't prepared.

Lucy alongside with Wendy and the Exceeds went on the other way while Gray and Juvia parted from the opposite direction as well. Their conversation was uplifting despite being short but that would be the last thing they would ever have once this all starts.

The two girls continued to walk through the streets with them holding their Exceeds in their arms respectively.

"That was fun..." Wendy smiled.

"Yeah... It's been a long time since we both had a laugh together. Well, almost... if you know what I mean." Lucy replied.

"Well, Erza-san is quite busy with her new job as guild master. Though I think we won't be seeing her quite a while."

"What are you talking about? Nothing has changed between us. Erza could always come with us anytime if she wants to. She's still the same, I assure you." Lucy smiled.

"Well, I guess... Thank you, Lucy-san." She muttered as Lucy turned to look at the bluenette softly. She then placed a reassuring pat on her head as she spoke.

"Don't worry, we'll get him back. When this is over, we might be able to convince him to return home. No matter what he is right now, he's still our friend and we won't give up just as he didn't give up on us."

"Yes!" The sky dragonslayer let out beaming smile as she found her confidence back.

Lucy smiled as she saw her back again to her usual cheery self.

But just as they're about to resume patrolling, a sounding alarm blared loudly from the high towers.

"―!"

All ears heard the alarm go off across town and the mages started to go on full alert at the impending attack.

* * *

 **...**

* * *

"The alarm just went off!"

"The enemy has made their move!"

"Get to your positions!"

Numerous panicked shouts reverberated across the guild hall as soon as the alarm went off all over Magnolia. Erza walked out from the office as she looked down and saw her guild members scrambling from all directions.

The alarm surely made everyone jump from their seats as they suddenly sprang up into action to deal with the threat.

She had no time to deal with other businesses inside the guild's office as she hurriedly went downstairs and approached Warren who was currently tending to the communications network that leads to the rest of the guild members outside and also to the rest of the guilds in Fiore as well.

A large lacrima radar map was displayed above the device as Warren tries to examine the enemy's movements.

"What's the situation?"

"We got a detected enemy armada flying in our direction from the west. And it looks like they're going very fast. It's assumed that they're moving by air judging from the mobility of other ships." Warren explained.

"What about the other countries?"

"Seven and Bosco had just received words of a surprise attack from the north. It looks like Alvarez sent out vanguards all across the countries without warning... We don't know how they managed to sneak past our detection but all countries have been taken by surprise. We don't know if the Magic Council noticed this. It's like they mobilized their invasion against us at the same time." He reported.

"That's to be expected."

Erza and the others turned to glance away as their briefing was cut short by a familiar voice. Their eyes landed on Makarov and Mavis who are slowly making their approach to the group as well.

They both looked at the map as if they expected this kind of event to happen soon.

"Master... What do you mean by that?"

"Zeref's main focus is Fiore but he also plans to destroy Ishgar alongside with its countries. It would make sense that he would try to send out as many troops as he can on other countries to serve as a blockade."

"Blockade?"

"That's right..." Mavis nodded as she started explaining.

"...With that strategy, he was able to block off all our allies from the outside thus, preventing any sort of communications or even reinforcements from them to help us. Of course, taking this kind of strategy, he will need to divide his forces alongside with his elite guards. In that sense, we can make time developing our counterattack without worrying all the Spriggan 12 locking down on us."

She continued her explanation as she broke down the Black Mage's plans across Ishgar. The others simply looked at her in surprise, seeing how she was able to see through the enemy's course of action in just a few minutes of speculating.

Truth be told, they didn't expect that the Fairy Tactician would be this impressive.

"A-Amazing..."

"So this is the rumored Fairy Tactician..."

Murmurs spread around the crowd as they reveled in awe.

"But make no mistake on underestimating our enemy just yet. All of his current plans are bent on acquiring Fairy Heart. His main target is still Fiore and this is just the beginning of it."

Mavis warned which immediately put an end to their short relief.

She knew better that Zeref isn't going let this thing down in just one strategy. He might be planning his next course of action while they're dealing with this kind of situation. They can't let their guard down a single bit.

Shifting her eyes away from the map, she looked at Warren.

"Send word to the members and other mages outside and have them prepared around town. Also, have Bisca and the others prepare the cannon just in case. We can't let any single one of their ships landing on the ground so have Freed to set up the barrier at an earlier time." She ordered.

"Yes!"

"I'll have to contact the Magic Council as well to inform Lord Warrod and the others." Makarov declared as he prepares to communicate with the Magic Council.

Mavis nodded shortly afterward before shifting her gaze towards the scarlet knight.

"Erza, you'll be meeting with Gajeel and Wendy to intercept the ships. You'll be assuming command of their team and try to take out as many enemies as possible. The rest of the others will be backing you up on the ground just in case things go bad. Retreat if you have to."

"Yes, Master!" And with that, she quickly made her way outside to meet up with the two dragonslayers.

With the scarlet knight gone and the members of the guild taking on their tasks, Makarov and Mavis stood in anticipation as they looked into the map with determined expressions.

"Now... let's see how Zeref will respond?"

* * *

 **...**

* * *

Outside the guild, the streets remained empty as it is but several members can be seen running around in panic as they try to make way to their destinations. Others were from other guilds across Fiore since every capable mage is called upon to prepare for the war as well.

The meeting back at the Council made this situation a reality. Since then, some familiar faces from other guilds can be seen from all around, acting in a sort of a unified force with each other. Some of them recognize her as she went by before heading back to their respective objectives.

Erza sprinted all the way through the streets as she hurried on her way towards the north where the two dragonslayers along with their Exceeds are located.

The alarm continued to fire off as the whole town focused on making defensive maneuvers from the impending attack.

Mages helped out, pouring their magic to form the barrier around Magnolia as they raised their staves behind the frontlines, strengthening it as minutes go by.

It didn't take long as she finally made her way to the north. She sighted some of her friends who were ordered to intercept the enemy. At the same time, her friends also saw her figure approaching from the distance.

"Erza?" The group exclaimed in surprise as she finally made it to them. Their confused expressions were seen on their faces as she made her appearance.

"It looks like everyone is in order. I made it in time too."

"What are you doing here? Are you supposed to be in the guild with the First?" Gajeel crossed his arms; his eyes bearing a puzzled look.

"Change of plans... Team Flying Dragon Squad will move in to attack those fleets. I'll be accompanying you as well which means we have to get ready... We'll be moving in about a minute so let's get going."

"Yes!" The two dragonslayers shouted in unison.

Leaving her gazes at them, she then turned towards Gray and Lucy who were also stationed on the town's defense.

"I'm leaving the ground to you."

"Yeah... Leave it to us!"

"You gonna be okay up there? That's a lot of enemies coming from them. I don't think this could compare to what the empire could actually bring." Lucy said.

"No matter who or how many they are, I'll do what it takes to protect my home. Plus, everyone is helping out so we don't have to worry about their numbers. As long as we can fight them back, I've nothing to fear." She stated in determination which earned the two's smiles in the process.

"Give 'em hell, Erza," Gray smirked.

Nodding at his response, the scarlet knight requipped to her Heaven's Wheel armor as she flew into the sky with Wendy and Gajeel following suit with their Exceeds behind their backs. The three mages slowly disappeared from sight as the rest of the mages back on the ground prayed for their victory.

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile..._**

* * *

On the other side of the country, a different group decides their own course of action towards the war as they trudged their way through an abandoned town.

"Are you really sure about leaving him alone out there? He might be strong as he looks but he's not some immortal demon, you know."

"I have complete faith in him. All we can do now is to leave everything to him and do our part. We have our own mission to fulfill so we should just focus on that."

"Faith, huh? Never heard you saying something like that." Jackal mocked.

"What's wrong with that? Or am I to interpret that you doubt our Master's strength?" Sayla looked back at him with an eye of suspicion, ignoring the taunt from her fellow Etherious.

"Hmph... Fair enough but I don't agree you being our leader for this mission. Why of all people did it have to be you?"

"Because Natsu trusts me..."

"Yeah, yeah. Fair enough too, I guess..."

The unfriendly discussion between Sayla and Jackal are the only ones that reverberated across the silent town itself as the group tries to make to their designated location. Alongside with them was Torafuzar in his usual calm and silent appearance.

He walked behind them, seemingly in his usual stone-cold attitude as the conversation between other demons went by.

He didn't even bother uttering a word or even try intervening in their conversation as he only displayed his collected nature.

A trait unlikely to the rest of the Etherious.

"Oi... Say something will ya?" Jackal blurted out, catching the huge demon's attention as it stared right down towards him. The towering build of the demon made it seem intimidating and those standing in front of him looked puny in his eyes.

"There's little need to discuss among the Etherious. Right now, I abide by Lord END's orders."

"Tch... Too uptight... Cut some slack, will ya? No wonder why you lost..."

"I don't need to hear that from someone who got defeated by a mage whom I advised to be dealt with rather than play with it."

Despite the insult, Torafuzar retained his calm demeanor in stark contrast to the hot-headed Jackal who seemingly got struck by his retort.

"You wanna go, punk?"

"Kukuku... Amusing little demons, aren't they?" Another voice resounded, prompting Jackal to immediately retort in response.

"I don't need that coming from you, Franmalth!" Said demon in his mushroom form chuckled in delight as he rested on Sayla's head as if attached to it, acting as a temporary vessel to keep him safe for the time being.

He was another member of the Nine Demon Gates who was convinced to join the group ever since they found him wandering through some abandoned ruin. It can't say he was delighted to see the rest of them until he encountered the very demon who they revered to as the strongest among them.

Because of that, he was eventually brought along under their Master's bidding.

Things happened and the four of them are now tagging along despite the unclear explanation needed for the other Etherious about END's appearance.

I mean, it's really difficult to say how they once sought annihilation against humans now turn to protect them in the process.

"Even so, it's quite a surprise to see all of us doing something like this. I've never expected such a development even to know the fact that Lord END was here with us all along. Gehehe..."

"There's a reason for it although it isn't important as of now. We're facing a much bigger enemy than we ever encountered before..." She paused for a moment as she began explaining their objectives.

"Our mission is to intercept the enemy from coming to Fiore. Torafuzar and Jackal will deal with the fleet at sea from the south and try to prevent them from getting into Hargeon. Somehow, Alvarez managed to break through the east and are heading towards there."

"So it has begun, huh?" Jackal muttered with a devious grin.

"The sea would prove to be a good advantage for you, Torafuzar. You should be able to deal with them with your curse." Sayla looked him with anticipation.

"I shall deliver what I can to dispose of them..." Giving a short declaration, the demon swore as she nodded in confirmation.

"We're here to stall the enemy's advance as much as possible. If things get worse, pull back and regroup, understand?" She added.

"Heh, if they only get to us. I wouldn't mind blowing up their faces to bits." Jackal smirked.

"I'm warning you beforehand, do not underestimate the enemy. They're more powerful than you think, especially their elite guards..."

Despite her advice, the blonde demon merely looked away in irritation. Sayla didn't want to stay long as she changed the subject.

She released a sigh before speaking.

"...Meanwhile, Franmalth and I will intercept the other fleet from the west. I suppose you can find a suitable corpse for you to absorb there once we dealt with them." She looked at her head in anticipation.

"Considering that we survive, of course. Everything else is set. Gehehe..." Franmalth gave another fit of his creepy laughs which she ignored as they all prepared themselves.

"Then... Let's start!"

With a shout, the group separated into two parties as Sayla flew high in the sky along with Franmalth while Jackal and Torafuzar continued on their path as intended.

As two demons disappeared from sight, the other two from below stopped for a moment as Jackal expressed his annoyance towards demon girl, whispering curses in between his sentences.

"Tch... That woman... I ain't your loyal sheep... If it wasn't for that bastard, I wouldn't have come out here risking my neck."

Torufuzar slightly turned his attention towards him with suspicion.

"Are you not going to follow your orders?"

"I can do whatever I want... But you know, having to kill a lot of these guys would not be such a boring thing after all. Plus, I would like to see what kind of demon is our guild master." He silently muttered.

"Hmph... Well said... It's time we show them the power of the Nine Demon Gates."

And with that, the two demons resumed their journey.

* * *

 **...**

* * *

On the other hand, Sayla and Franmalth were headed to their destination as they flew by across countless landscapes at an insane speed. The latter couldn't believe just how much powerful she has become in the aftermath of their guild's defeat. He expected her to die at some point but it seems like she was saved by END and eventually grew stronger.

Truth be told, he's still not convinced by the fact that the person whom he fought and lost was actually END himself. Because he couldn't handle the truth, he could only kneel in front of the pinkette for raising his hand against him.

After understanding the situation, he undoubtedly returned back in an effort to revive Tartaros again.

―Well, not what he would expect by the way.

To think that a day would come to pass where they would protect the humans. Franmalth could think of this as a nonsensical reality but after knowing who they're up against, he knew that this would be a good way to return to Zeref.

"We're almost to the fleet..."

"Kukuku... I can't wait to collect some souls again. How much cost losing all those precious souls last time?" Franmalth chuckled in delight.

"Remind you not to absorb any other people's souls except our enemies," Sayla warned with a hostile tone in her voice, ignoring his belittling remarks about the worth of lives.

"Of course! I wouldn't want to get on our master's bad side... Hmmm?"

He stopped as his eyes picked up multiple unknown ships within their sides.

At the same time, Sayla turned her attention as well as she widened her eyes at the approaching fleet. Counting at exactly thirty ships with several small ones accompanied by an enormous army, the fleet certainly looks to be the main force in addition to their firepower installed in their arsenal.

"Those are..."

"Alvarez. I didn't think they made it this far... Something's wrong..."

"Indeed... there's no way for such a fleet to have come this close on land." The mushroom demon nodded.

Sayla's eyes narrowed as soon as she saw the fleet very close to Fiore―specifically near to Magnolia. They couldn't have broken through the country's defense that easily now, is it? And even if it did, they should be met with resistance along the way.

Even so, this is Alvarez. They should've expected this kind of situation. Any thought of resistance would've probably been dealt with swiftly and easily, judging from the huge army and elite force they had.

There is no time for any explanations.

If they already broke through some other countries, they'll have to take as many enemies as they can to keep them away from approaching the town.

"Heh, it looks like our trip to the west would probably take awhile," Franmalth added, somehow agreeing with her.

"We'll have to take care of it ourselves." Sayla declared.

"Are you sure you're enough for that massive fleet? Even though you're an Etherious, you're still one person. And I can't do anything yet since I'm pretty much out of souls to use right now." He warned her but it only fueled the growing smirk on her lips as she made a dark look for the first time ever since before meeting Natsu.

"Who do you think you call me for...?"

At that, she transformed into her Etherious form before vanishing out from sight.

In just a few seconds, she was already within the fleet's distance and before anyone could even see her, she dashed right into one of the ships at an insane speed.

 ***BOOOOOOOM* *BOOOOOOOM***

 ***BOOOOOOOM* *BOOOOOOOM***

A series of explosions was heard as numerous ships were suddenly set ablaze. Multiple troops scrambled from intact ships as they watched their critically damaged ships go down from the formation.

"What was that?!"

"An explosion!" A few shouts of panic momentarily filled the air as multiple troops panicked at the commotion.

"WHAT IN THE WORLD IS HAPPENING?!"

"One of our ships has taken a critical damage! We just lost number 4!"

"What?!"

Another explosion occurred as one of the ships was suddenly taken out in a single hit. Some of the men turned their eyes towards the sky and saw the enemy. However, due to the blinding light of the sun from above, it was hard for them to discern the identity of the person as it disappeared again on sight.

"Alert the whole fleet! We have an intruder!"

"Yes, sir!"

At that moment, the whole fleet went on full alert as they tried to locate the enemy.

 ***BOOOOM* *BOOOOOOOM***

Another explosion was heard. This time, it was behind the fleet as another ship went crashing down again.

"We just lost ship number 7! Get to your positions! The enemy is attacking us!"

"Fire off the cannons! Shoot everything in sight!"

Panic and confusion filled the atmosphere as the entire fleet couldn't trace the enemy's movement. At the same time, some of the ships began loading their cannons and fired in the air. However, despite all their efforts to suppress her, they were no match for her speed as Sayla kept destroying each of their ships one by one with ease.

Another ship has gone down and after a while, more ships are continued to be destroyed helplessly without any means to fight back against the demon.

"T-T-This is not good! W-We can't fight back! Just what kind of mage is she?"

"Keep firing on those cannons! Don't let her destroy more ships!"

The troops desperately tried to fight as well but their weapons are of no use against an enemy whose speed and agility cannot compare to what they have encountered before. As a result, they were left standing hopelessly in its ungodly sharp assaults.

Some of them tried turning their ship away out of fear but it was left vulnerable nonetheless. Others wanted to abandon the mission as they saw despair in front of their eyes.

After a few more minutes, the fleet was severely reduced to five ships. The rest of the fleet already crashed down to the ground along with their men, reducing a significant number of troops as well as leaving a large trail of burning wreck from all the assaults they've suffered.

Then―at that moment, Sayla finally descended from the sky as she landed down at one of the ships. For once, she finally made her appearance to the remnants of the fleet.

Troops immediately took up arms and surrounded the woman with their magic weapons.

"H-Halt! Or we'll kill you!"

All of them had their weapons pointed at her from all directions. Their steeled willpower, however, was quickly betrayed as the demon girl could notice the trembling fear on their bodies, seeing how frightened they were. No matter how many of them are, their actions could already tell that they were afraid of her.

She merely ignored their words as she slowly motioned her left hand sideways.

"I order you... Sleep."

Without warning, every single one of the soldiers crashes down to the floor like puppets cut off from their strings. Her Macro spread throughout the remaining ships as every remaining troop in the fleet also fell in the same manner, leaving only the sole demon standing in the midst of the aftermath of their battle.

The fight ended in an instant. Not a single Alvarez troop can be seen standing in the vicinity.

Franmalth couldn't hold back his amazement and began complimenting the fellow Etherious.

"Well color me surprised... To think that you'd singlehandedly subdued a large fleet just like that. I can see why Lord END speaks in favor of you commanding us."

"Spare me the compliment and take all the souls around here, Franmalth."

However, just as they thought it was all over, Sayla immediately widened her eyes as she swung her blade-tip hand upward from her left to cut a swarm of sand raining down towards her. With a swift slash, she conjured up a blast of air, cutting through the sand as it dispersed into two waves just before it could reach her.

She took up caution as her eyes soon picked up the assailant from above.

Lifting her head, she spotted a lone figure who was standing on top of one of the ship's sails. The blinding rays of the sun made it difficult for her to see the man's face until it finally revealed itself to her.

"So... it was you, bitch!" An anger-induced voice escaped from the man's lips.

The face of the man quickly dawned on her as disbelief ran through her expression along with confusion, recognizing the man that was used to be dead a long time ago.

"It can't be..." She voiced her shock in words as she looked up to him a second time, making sure she was not seeing things.

"―!" Her thoughts were cut short as another swarm of sand appeared on both sides, prompting her to jump away a few meters back as she saw him finally descending down on the deck as well.

At that moment, the attacks subsided, giving enough time for both sides to examine each other.

Around the same time, Sayla regained her composure as she stood up before looking towards the man right in front of her with an alarming posture.

"Tch, to think you would do this much damage to my squad. You really ticked off the wrong person, you know..."

"I was certain you were killed by Natsu."

Something's definitely wrong here.

Sayla couldn't find any answers towards this unexpected turn of event. The guy is no doubt the one who was killed by the pinkette during their escape from Alvarez. So why was he still alive?

"What are you talking about?! Me? Getting handed by one of you?! I, the great Ajeel can never be killed by worthless scum like you! You sure did a number on us this time. Which means you won't be getting away from just scratching down my army with your petty powers." He growled in anger.

"Cheeky little human, isn't he? Might be worthwhile to take his soul, don't you think?" Franmalth spat against his insult.

On the other hand, Sayla noticed something wrong behind his words. The enmity in the desert mage's eyes prompted the girl to narrow her eyes in caution, briefly setting aside her thought for now as she prepares to fight.

"There will be no need of a fight. I'm eliminating every single one of you here. I don't know how you came back to life but you're definitely someone who must be eliminated at all costs!" She answered.

"You sure are very cocky. Well, let me put you in your own place! For I will bury you down in the depths of sand hell!"

Ajeel moved to a stance as he began using his magic. His body glowed in bright yellow color as magic poured out through his hands where the spell is being cast upon.

"Restrict him, Sayla!" Franmalth shouted.

The demon girl didn't have the need to listen as she instantly raised her hand towards him, however, her eyes suddenly widened in disbelief as she found herself unable to stop him.

"W-What? My Macro doesn't work on him!"

"Hah! You're wide open!" Because of her shock, Ajeel took the opportunity as he launched a barrage of sand towards her.

A powerful blast caused her to shield her eyes as the sand obscured her vision of her opponent. The sand rampaged through the ship, piercing its hull and cracking it in half as the sand wave buried the ship alongside with her, hoping to trap her as it slowly plunges down to the ground.

Luckily, Sayla flew away and landed on one of the remaining ships. Her eyes traced through falling ship as Ajeel jumped in the air with a pile of sand under his feet, keeping him afloat.

"Heh, you're a lot stronger than I imagined. I didn't expect you to take out my army on your own without the help of your friend from before." He stated, seemingly impressed.

"..." Sayla offered nothing but a glaring pair of eyes fixated on him.

Ajeel smirked at the enmity flowing within her as he merely continued.

"Now that reminds me something, where is he? I don't see him around. Don't tell me he chickened out and sent only you to finish the job."

On the other hand, Sayla then gave a smirk of her own.

"Unfortunately, he's not here. He has more important matters to deal with rather than some worthless brute."

"Kgh―I'LL MAKE YOU REGRET THOSE WORDS!"

Ajeel's mad expression turned even more twisted as soon as he heard her words. His teeth gritted fiercely like a madman to the point of breaking as his eyes glared towards her in rage. Both demons began to feel a magic pressure surrounding the desert mage.

"This is bad... I've never seen a human having this kind of power. Just how powerful is this punk?" Franmalth muttered in surprise.

The atmosphere around them began to change as Sayla felt the pressure circling the man.

Ajeel looked down from above as he slowly raises both his arms.

At that moment, a giant wall of sand blasted from the ground as it towers right behind him, shocking the two in the process. A giant shadow was cast upon them, blocking the sunlight from behind.

The two couldn't believe the size of the wall being cast.

He intends to slam it down against them alongside with his remaining fleet. No mercy can be written in his eyes as he gave no hesitation.

A dark smile traced down onto his lips as he released his spell.

"VANISH ALONG WITH YOUR WORTHLESS COMPANION!"

 **"Sand of Urdu!"**

With a shout, he motioned his hands down as the sand wall followed in its direction, like a tidal wave as it heads straight towards the two. Sayla widened her eyes as she saw the wall coming down on her.

"Evade it, Sayla!"

She didn't waste time as she immediately flew away before the sand could get to her. The sand crushed the ship along with the remaining ones that were near towards it. The rest of the men were nowhere to be found as massive sand buried everything in sight, leaving nothing of what's left of the fleet.

Ajeel continued to smile deviously despite his actions towards his comrades. His face continued to fall down into driven madness as soon as his spell missed his opponent.

"IM NOT DONE YET!" He raged as he swung his left arm onto her direction in which the sand moves straight towards her at high speeds.

Sayla maneuvered herself through the air, dodging every projectile of sand aimed towards her. Her skill in flight clearly outmatched the sand itself looking like she wasn't even trying at all.

Seeing his spell fail against her speed, Ajeel cursed underneath his words.

"You fucking bitch!"

He swung his right hand sideways as the sand chasing the girl suddenly turned into monsters.

Sayla widened her eyes as the sand monsters began to fly close to her. Transforming her bladed arms back to normal, she began using her curse as the eyes glowed on her open palms. A bluish light appeared along with a set of symbols circling around it, releasing a swell of energy between two hands as she pointed it towards the monsters behind her.

 **"Demon Eyes!"**

As soon as she invoked those words, a huge beam of light blasted away from her hands, vaporizing the monsters in a short second. The beam went a few miles away, eventually exploding in the far distance that sent an enormous pillar of light from the distance followed by a powerful tremor in just a few seconds. The light grew as the explosion continued on for a short while before dissipating.

Ajeel stared in shock at the destructive power. Even Franmalth was left in disbelief after seeing it as well. A power like that could easily level a town and they were glad that the beam didn't hit near their vicinity. Otherwise, they could've been caught up in the blast.

A sense of frustration filled the sand mage as he furiously snaps his head back towards her.

"TCH! DON'T GET FULL OF YOURSELF!"

Another wave of sand monsters appeared from behind him as it flew towards her at full speed.

Sayla waited on the spot as the monsters neared her before rolling herself in mid-air, using her stilted sharp legs to cut down the monsters that come right towards her. The monsters were quickly disposed of as they couldn't fight against her attacks, comprising of deadly swings that looked like a lethal tornado. Because of their properties of being made of sand, it was easy for her to cut down without much of an effort.

In just a few seconds, the monsters eventually thinned out, prompting Ajeel to pull away from his assault as their battle comes to a halt. A momentary ceasefire fell upon the battlefield as both the two combatants got their chance to observe their opponents for the second time as soon as their attacks ended.

"What's wrong? Aren't you gonna attack? You were dodging my sand monsters like it was easy and now you're stopping?"

Ajeel taunted with a smirk as the Sayla looked back at him with anticipation. She seemed to want to try at something.

"You don't have to worry about that. More importantly, I've been very curious."

"What?"

"It seems we're having a bit of a misunderstanding here. The fact that you were still alive despite you being killed a few days ago still remains a mystery to me."

"Are you trying to make fun of me?! Me, being killed off by some worthless scum that isn't even above me? If you're trying to tick me off with a lie, I'm sure it won't work on me!"

At that moment, Sayla thought something wrong about his statement. Her eyes narrowed deeply in suspicion as she heard his words loud and clear. It doesn't seem like he was clearly aware of being dead. No―rather, he doesn't remember a single thing that transpired during their encounter with him.

What the hell is going on?

"Tch, worthless scum? He, of all people, would dare call us Etherious as inferior to them. I just had the urge to consume his soul even more." Franmalth muttered with a growl alongside with her but it seems like he was noticed her thoughts trailing off at something.

"...What's wrong?"

"Nothing... It's just that there's something wrong with him."

"You noticed, huh?" He replied as if he knows about her suspicion beforehand.

"So you did too."

"Well, it's been bothering me as well since I've been observing him for quite awhile."

"What do you mean?"

"You see, every human possesses a soul from the inside. I can detect the presence of a soul inside a body just as I can absorb them using my curse. But this guy... he doesn't have one."

Sayla's eyes widened in surprise after hearing that.

"Doesn't...have...one? What are you talking about?"

"A soul exists within a body and when death comes close upon them, that soul is released and the body is left out. My curse will be able to absorb those souls back once I absorb their bodies however, there's something on that guy that makes me unable to see his soul―no, rather something was placed on him that makes him move even without a soul. A magic I do not know of." He reasoned.

At that response, Sayla could only widen her eyes in surprise.

 _'A magic that even we Etherious didn't know of? That even Franmalth could not discern? Just what kind of mage is capable of such a thing?'_

"In other words, he's reanimated."

"That's what I think it is. But only Keyes' curse can only do such a thing."

"I see... It's no wonder my curse couldn't work properly against him." She realized.

Around the same time, she also began pondering about the desert mage for a long while after observing their course of conversations awhile back.

Her thoughts were cut short as they were interrupted by Ajeel who spoke from the distance.

"Hoh? Finally gonna get serious?" Hearing her statement, Ajeel steeled himself as he saw her moving back to her stance.

"Unfortunately... I don't have the time to be dealing some dead man."

"Tch, you're getting so full of yourself, you little bitch!"

Both mages locked their eyes against each other as they released their power into the air.

Ajeel smirked evilly as he suddenly stretched both his hands sideways.

"It's time I'll show the true power of the Desert King!"

 **"Sandstorm!"**

A swirl of sand soon engulfed the whole ship as Sayla stood back, shielding her eyes from the spell. Her vision blurred at the sandstorm surrounding her, losing track of the Spriggan mage in the process. After a few seconds, the sandstorm soon expanded and began covering the entire region around them with sand. Even the land below was covered with a powerful sandstorm, reducing any sight of anyone in about a few meters away.

Sayla felt her body slowly succumbing to the dry heat of the sand swirling around her body. The sensation, however, was a bit different from being burned by flames as she slowly began to feel dehydrated. The moisture on her body was slowly being sucked away as if being exposed to a seemingly scorching desert.

"What the hell is this?!"

"This is my world... A world where I am a god!"

A voice resounded from the near distance as Sayla turned to see Ajeel floating right above her. Because of the sandstorm, she wasn't able to see through his movements as he began casting his spell.

 **"Ramel Sayf!"** A series of bullet-sized sand particles rained down in blinding speeds.

Sayla immediately reacted despite the reduced vision around her eyes as she leaped away to avoid the deadly rain.

However, her eyes soon caught up in surprise as Ajeel appeared from behind with a huge sand hammer in his right hand.

 **"Ramel Shakush!"**

With a swing heading straight to her face, she raised both her hands to guard at the last moment. Barely making it, she took the hard blow as the force thrown her body off the air and went plummeting towards the ground.

Fortunately, she was able to regain her footing as she floated back just in time before she could reach the ground.

"You're wide open!"

Another voice was heard. This time, it was on her left as Ajeel stretched his left hand before a torrent of sand erupted and blew the demon girl, inevitably sending her down to the ground. A huge dust cloud erupted upon impact as Sayla immediately stood up back on her feet, seemingly able to withstand the impact. However, there was no time for any idle movement as she proceeded to leaped away after noticing a wave of sand spears sent on her position.

"We can't do anything in this sandstorm! We're pretty much blinded out here. Fight back, Sayla!" Franmalth complained.

"Kh―"

The two demons were left at nothing as they realized their disadvantage against their opponent. A flurry of sand projectiles was sent on her way like homing missiles as they continued to chase her in mid-flight. There was no sight of Ajeel compared to their position being exposed at all places as they can't even locate his current location.

"WHAT'S WRONG?! I THOUGHT YOU WERE GONNA FINISH THIS?! WHERE ALL THAT CONFIDENCE GO NOW, HUH?!"

His taunting remarks resounded within the sandstorm as Sayla continued evading his attacks as best as she could. She flew around the sandstorm, dodging different sand projectiles thrown at her in a chaotic manner.

Despite all of it, she was able to remain unharmed against the attacks but it doesn't mean she can keep it for long.

Franmalth cursed inwardly as he couldn't find any solution to their situation. The size of the sandstorm was immensely large much to his surprise.

To think that a human is capable of such a thing.

It made him realized just how serious both Natsu and Sayla were talking about the situation, especially when dealing with their current enemies as of now. And this is just one of those twelve Spriggans that guard Zeref himself. It doesn't even look like Tartaros could compete against them even with all the Nine Demon Gates combined.

"At this rate, we're gonna get all our powers drained away if we stayed around this storm awhile longer!"

"I know that..." Sayla gritted her teeth in irritation, tired of hearing her fellow demon's complaints which had been distracting her partly during the battle.

"We have to get away from this storm first!"

"No one can escape my sandstorm."

Their conversation was abruptly cut short as Ajeel appeared right next to them, shocking them in the process.

 **"Ramel Easifat Thaljia!"**

With his right hand stretched up front, he released a massive burst of sand against them. Sayla didn't have the time to react as she was sent flying away once again, only to be stopped as she felt her feet being held by sand as well, connecting to Ajeel.

"Die!"

Sayla couldn't escape from the sand clutched at her feet as her body was flung high up in the air before heading straight down to the ground.

A huge dust explosion erupted afterward, followed by a tremor that shook the ground for a few seconds before dying down. Dust kicked up in the air like a massive column of clouds as Ajeel smirked at the aftermath.

At the same time, the sandstorm vanished, clearing away the dust as the land before them was now buried in sand as well. Even trees and forests were all buried under it, drying any kind of life that touches with it. Not even a single sign of life can be spotted from a mile away.

Ajeel took a few seconds as the dust slowly cleared away from the center where Sayla had been crashed into. He turned his attention towards it as he waited in anticipation.

There's no way she would've survived that crash. If anything, she wouldn't come out uninjured.

However, at that moment, his eyes narrowed.

At the center of the crash, he saw the demon girl standing on the ground, seemingly fine despite receiving that kind of blow from his attack. She doesn't even appear to be injured in some way as the only thing that didn't go unscathed was her clothes. His eyes looked closely into her demonic form as a sense of fear briefly entered into his eyes as soon as he found hers staring right at him.

In response, he instinctively took a step back.

His body moved almost unconsciously out of fear as soon as he realized it.

"I-Impossible! T-There's no way―there's no way you would still be alive!"

However... instead of receiving a response, his eyes failed to anticipate her next move as Sayla simply lifted one of her arms upward towards him.

―Then, a sound of flesh being cut resounded in his ears as his face smeared a patch of blood right next to his cheeks, causing him to slowly turned back and saw his left arm splattered down the ground, drowning in a pool of blood.

Drips of red liquid also fell as his eyes looked further down where the blood on his face came from. His body was sprayed in deep crimson as his mind soon came to a realization.

After a few seconds, a scream resounded.

"U-Uuuuuuuhhhaaaaaaaaa! Aaaaaaaahhh!"

A mix of despair and disbelief plastered on his face as he looked in dismay towards his severed arms. Blood gushed out from both ends as he was brought down to his knees, feeling the phantom pain all over his body. His face contorted with a mix of fear, madness, and anger as he lost all reason and recklessly charged ahead without thinking.

"WHY YOU―!"

A wave of sand was sent, using his remaining arm to retaliate and extending his range of attack against the woman. However, his eyes widen in disbelief as soon as he saw the sand circled in front of him, converging towards a little creature that he failed to notice at the last second. "It's here! The time has come to make my comeback! Yeaaaaah! Oh, this is some pretty nice magic you have here!"

Franmalth appeared in his mushroom form as he came just in time to absorb the magic.

"W-What?! W-What did... you do?!" Ajeel couldn't make any sense of what just happened as his expression was driven by utter surprise. His confusion, however, was cut short as Franmalth clasped both his tiny arms as he initiated his spell towards him.

"Yoshaaaaa! Time to test this thing out!"

 **"Ant Lion Pit!"**

With a similar spell being cast, the ground beneath Ajeel turned into a quicksand as he fell down, eventually getting trapped under his own spell. He felt his body unable to move and his magic drained away from the dry sand itself, rendering him unable to do anything in this situation.

"T-This is! H-How dare you use my own magic against me! I swear I'll kill you all!"

He desperately screamed as he tried breaking out from the sand but the more he tried to do so the faster his body sinks down to the very bottom as the sand gripped onto his body like a powerful sticky substance. He can't even do anything to get out of his situation as he could only move his head as the rest of his lower body is slowly being buried under the pit. It was only then the sand stopped for a moment as soon as he was restrained by his own spell.

"He's all yours, Sayla."

Sayla soon reverted back to her normal form as she walked a few steps ahead, taking over the situation as she looked down on the mage.

"It's time we end this."

"I-I-Impossible... I―" He was cut off as he began to cough out blood. His body limped away as he began to feel weak all of a sudden. The fatal wound on his arm sends a huge pain all over his system, losing control of some parts of his body by the second.

Sayla simply shifted one of her hands into a blade as she walked near towards him, hoping to end his life once and for all.

"T-T-To think that―I, the great A-Ajeel would be d-defeated by s-some demon―"

His final words hung in the air as the sound of piercing flesh overwhelmed it. A quick stab to the heart was all it takes to snuff out the life of the man, instantly severing any sense of function as his body thudded down on the ground.

The solitary demon stood atop of the blood-soaked body as she reigned victorious from the battle.

"If gods do exist... so does demons."

As if to answer his last words, Sayla pulled her blade away as she reverted her form back to normal. The fight ended in their victory as the demon girl defeated the Spriggan mage. The destruction of the landscape was covered in dry sand and the remnants of the fleets smoked over the distance as the two successfully eliminated the whole threat. Around the same time, Franmalth slowly made his way back to her.

"So... it's over, huh? I thought we could dig more information about their army but..."

"Not yet... This is just the beginning. There's still eleven of them with bigger armies than this." Sayla spoke as the wounds around her body began to act up. Even as someone as her would have a hard time dealing with someone like him. Franmalth noticed this but decided to keep silent, hoping not to get her annoyed in the process.

"But still, I've never thought he would fall for such a simple trick. Making yourself look weak in front of your prey is nothing much of a demon's work, don't you think?"

"His arrogance cost him twice but that's not what's important here..." She paused as her eyes narrowed in which prompted Franmalth to do the same as they both looked at the dead body to examine it. As they were about to investigate, their eyes soon took notice of the pendant strapped into the dead mage's neck. It glowed for a few seconds before it broke into pieces. The glow slowly vanished before either of them could even react.

The trace of magic soon vanished, leaving an empty shell on the broken pendant where the source of the magic originated from.

At the same time, the body soon crumbles into little pieces, turned into dust. Like tiny ripped papers fluttering into the wind, the dead Spriggan's body ceases to exist, shocking the two in the process.

"Just now... he..."

They stood watch as the dust gets carried away by the fleeting wind, not knowing what could've been the reason behind his resurrection.

There were no words that can describe what happened.

They failed to acquire anything from the Spriggan as all traces of magic vanished in an instant. They couldn't even have the chance to absorb it in the process as they were left with nothing about the unusual revival of the once dead Spriggan.

As a result, they could only stand in full shock.

* * *

 **...**

* * *

"Ah, the enchantment wore off..."

"Is something wrong, Eileen-sama?"

Two female mages stood before the scarlet witch as they saw her complicated expression while looking at the lacrima orb floating in her hands.

A few moments later, the orb also cracked in the process, losing its flight as it fell down on the ground much to the two mages' surprise.

"Nothing... I guess my secret experiment didn't succeed that much. I was hoping to put more use of it but I guess it's a relief that it was gotten rid of quickly. Otherwise, His Majesty wouldn't like the idea of interfering a comrade's corpse to this extent."

A dark gaze went over to the two females as they smiled deviously alongside with her.

"So the fool's body is finally been put to good use."

"Although it was a little short while, I'm glad he served his country well~~"

"Well... Even so, we got a lot of information regarding this country's defense. We'll advance further south as intended.

Eileen smirked as her eyes now traced over to the far distance as their path now leads to the snowy peaks of Mount Zonia.

"Now then, it's time we make way further and turn this land into a sea of scarlet brilliance."

In her declaration, she made her stand as her back now faced a huge army standing alongside with her. Coupled with the Alvarez troops on the background was a field of burning corpses as the northern guilds in Fiore were easily wiped out in just a single moment. A trail of bodies were all seen from the distance. Villages and small towns alike lay in flames as far as the eyes could see. Not a single soul is spared, noticing the lack of all life except the army of Alvarez marching towards their objective as the Spriggan moved towards the snowy region of the mountain.

* * *

 **A/N: And there you have it. The first chapter of the last arc is finally here. As for Natsu, he'll have his own battle somewhere on the next chapter so look forward to it. Also, I thought you would expect Ajeel's comeback to be in a form of Historia so I wanted to try something different as well which was using Eileen's unmatched enchantments to the test. Reanimating the dead and giving a similar personality to the dead body would be my explanation for his (short) comeback before finally being disposed of by Sayla.**

 **The reason for my choice of this twist is because of Eileen's insanity. It's the perfect dramatization of her use and her ruthlessness which should be more than what the manga portrayed her to be. (Just because she saw her child smile doesn't mean she's cured of her broken self.) That's why in the future chapters, I'd like her to go down as a villain even to her daughter.**

 **I'll see you guys in the next chapter... ^^**

 **P.S. Sorry for the late update. It's been finished around since 5 months and I've been revising its contents over and over just to get the perfect scene to be played out.**

 **\- The wiErDos send their regards...**


	23. The Day Our World Ended pt 2

**A/N: Sup guys, wiErD here and I've got another chapter for you all.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything except for my plots. Everything else is owned by Hiro Mashima. Support the official release.**

* * *

 **\- The Day Our World Ended pt. 2 -**

* * *

War soon enveloped on all fronts. Countries of Ishgar have now engaged against the Alvarez Empire with little warning. The surprisingly simultaneous assault brought the whole continent in a state of shock and disbelief. Aside from Fiore, other countries could not mount any counterattack at the sheer number of the Alvarez troops marching past their fortresses and cities.

In the span of four days, Caelum and Seven were overwhelmed, ultimately forcing them to surrender and left Fiore the only country at the front to barely withstand the initial invasion with its northern borders taken by the Alvarez troops to which which are bound to head south if not for the mountainous regions of Zonia slowing their approach.

The high mountains served a great barrier for them, posing any sort of travel beyond it a perilous journey. It had given them the time to prepare for a defense against the north. However, the remaining three sides still posed a matter of concern as Caelum and Seven were conquered. Alvarez began to push its army down to Bosco to bypass the harsh northern mountains as well as splitting Fiore from the rest of the countries in the east. By that time, Fiore will be facing three-sided offensive attacks in the next week with the north following suit after a few days.

The odds are already stacking up against them.

Mavis thought deeply of the predictions that would play in her head as she stood in the middle of the radar constructed by Warren's magic to monitor the enemy's movements as well as their allies.

After successfully dismantling the airborne forces headed straight to them, Fiore remained free from the clutches of Alvarez.

News of their northern forces being decimated is not as surprising as she would seem on the other hand. She was used in dealing with these kinds of things, including the deaths of many people during her lifetime as a tactician. But even then, the position she undertook still weighs her heart despite no matter how much centuries have passed. Throughout her participation in wars, she never had led such an army at this scale and the price of life was something she couldn't undermine.

However, it was different.

To both her and Zeref's eyes, this war is nothing but a game decided on who's able to outwit the other. Unlike her who cares greatly for the life of others, Zeref sees it as non-existent and that's how he gains an advantage over his judgment to his army compared to hers. Even his so-called Spriggans are merely pawns to further his other grandeur plans.

Strangely enough, Mavis felt that she couldn't be any different from him in terms of her actions in performing strategies. This isn't a war where you could escape zero casualties or deaths. The consequences are something she would have to cope with as the war continues.

She couldn't falter right here. She had come far and couldn't regret everything now that the fight for the infinite magic capable of changing the world's foundations is right in front of her.

To protect the peace and the world she had lived on, she must not surrender.

The Fairy Tactician sighed wearily as she tried calming her already stiff shoulders after an hour's work of standing in the center of her headquarters, formulating strategies and discussions. The people on her guild had already scrambled to their positions outside the battlefield while some staying behind to serve as their information force. She stepped away from the radar lacrima, taking a short break despite being a ghost.

The mental fatigue of constantly watching every movement of Alvarez from all directions isn't something to be made fun of. She needed a breath of fresh air from all that continuous planning in wartime.

Finally having her thoughts away from the war for a moment, she took a brief examination of the guild itself. Not much people are seen around due to most of them stationed outside or some unoccupied places around Fiore. It's funny how even to her dream of a guild could have this kind of atmosphere.

An atmosphere filled with anxiety and the lukewarm company of friends seemed bleak than what it was before.

In short, it sort've changed drastically in her eyes.

She had watched the history of her guild even until now. Yet despite the times that filled with hardship and struggle, everyone is pouring every bit of their efforts to save their home. They knew how the guild was precious to them and it was enough to alleviate her fear as she watched them in the distance.

"First Master, the reports of Team Flying Dragon Squad are finished." A familiar voice caused her to turn to the side, looking at Makarov who was holding a stick in his hand to serve as a support. Mavis had now taken the liberty of examining the former guildmaster's appearance.

A year in Alvarez had given him that change of character or perhaps his age acting up as one might seem. Mavis could recall how often she would watch him over during his days back then even when Purehito was guild master. It was somehow thanks to her _curse_ that she was able to watch her legacy pass down up to this time. He certainly had come far as a proud Fairy Tail mage and master who carried her will for the younger generation.

On the other hand, his proficiency in magic still hasn't changed. Even at this time of war, he wouldn't hesitate to use his power to protect those precious to him.

A smile traced across her lips as she faced him. "It looks like it. And it seems Alvarez's advance has slowed down thanks to the mountain regions up north. While I would be glad to hear such good news, I'm afraid that our moment of peace would not last long."

Her collected expression turned grim. Makarov nodded along, expecting the answer from her as he spoke. "The news of the two countries is certainly concerning. The Alvarez forces in Caelum are preparing to move as well on both south and east. It seems like they're going to amass a massive two-front invasion against us. It will be in a matter of few days before Fiore would fight them at land. Hargeon will be the target place in the south but it's also one of our key places in maintaining control of the country."

"Indeed." Mavis nodded. "As such, we must not let it fall. That's why I'm preparing another set of force to defend the place. I finished sifting through the papers you sent me of all mages and guilds around Fiore. With little time we have, I selected those suitable in defending that region. Here they are."

Makarov took hold of the papers and saw the names of mages from all different guilds. Some of which hosted from theirs as well as familiar names were listed down to participate in the upcoming battle. His eyes peered over the silent first guild master in wonder.

"I reviewed all their magic and capabilities and this is the best selection to respond against Zeref's forces in the south. If what Warren's information says is true, then we're looking at an encounter of three Spriggans in that direction. This could also prompt Zeref to choose whatever side which he finds easier to advance towards us. With Hargeon being regarded as a vantage point, I assume he will advance his own troops at the east." She added to the end note of her explanation.

As expected of the Fairy Tactician. Makarov wouldn't even have the time to examine every mage on Ishgar just to test their capabilities but for Mavis, she would've easily done so with little effort due to her quick thinking and analysis.

However, a matter of concern went over to the old man's face as he peered over to the First Master in wonder.

Mavis noticed his sudden shift in his gaze and simply proceeded to answer instead of letting him ask her about it. "You're probably thinking about the involvement of other guilds when this was something that should be dealt with ourselves. I understand what you wanted to say however, things have come with Zeref declaring war against all of us. I know full well of the lives that were lost in the first stages of this war and this is something I will only hold responsibility for and no one else. Whether it be from our guild or from others, their lives will be in my hands alone."

Makarov understood fully well of her statement. As someone who hasn't lived in a world where wars are commonplace, it is not within his place to judge her actions. He is sure that even someone were to be replaced under her position, they would've done the same―No, rather, they would do worse than she had done.

This is not something that they could not walk away unscathed. Some of his children will not make it back and that very thought haunted him ever since all of it began.

The future of his family and guild rests upon this decisive battle. They are fully aware of the risks in this war but that doesn't stop them from doing what they can out there for the sake of their future. Everyone who took part in this fight had decided that from the start.

A world filled with happiness and a future for the next generation is what they wanted to protect.

"First..." Makarov muttered, not knowing what to say in his current position. A disheartened gaze formed on his eyes as he stared at the ground in doubt.

Mavis could only smile at his worries. "I understand your concern but I'm just a ghost using the future of your generation to correct my sin. It's my fault that things have come to this and I pray that this may be the last time I'll be ever to cause that suffering."

She had enough of taking lives. Even back when she was participating as the Fairy Tactician, she didn't forget the death tolls of every rival guild or faction that have come in her way. She'd hoped that this war would be the last thing she'll ever do to tamper the lives of many.

Makarov saw through her determination and merely swore to her. "No matter what others might feel of your decisions, we will stand by beside you. We have come this far as a guild and to protect those that come after us, I will offer my strength to protect them even if it takes my life to do so."

Like a knight swearing his fealty to his queen, Makarov knelt at the petite guild master with the same look of determination. Mavis saw how far he would risk his life for those kids―for his family. She smiled in content, grateful to him for his words.

"Thank you, Makarov."

* * *

 ** _Meanwhile, at the Southern Seas_**

* * *

A massive fleet, consisting of numerous ships, sailed steadily at the calm seas with banners of the Alvarez Empire coated on their sails. A huge number of troops are comprised in each ship, all of which are armed to the teeth. The indescribable force could not be seen as mere large―No, calling it a fleet would just be an understatement. The number of ships and troops deployed in this region is just considered an overkill and that's saying only with their base numbers and troops alone. Not counting the three Spriggans that boarded one of those ships as their leaders for the assault.

A maniacal laugh came from Wahl as he sprawled himself on the ground, caring nothing of his appearance towards the other soldiers who were aboard at his own ship. He had been lying down on the floor for quite some time and his laugh is unbearable for the ones near his vicinity. Nevertheless, the whole ship doesn't bother correcting him for his behavior as they feared for their lives being forfeit by him.

"Ahayayayaya! An easy cake walk I would say. Those fuckers don't even stand a chance. It was fun seeing their country being razed down to the ground like they are!"

"Could please tone down your voice, Wahl. You're disturbing the atmosphere. I'm sure you had your fun testing out your toys back in Caelum." A female voice answered at the front of the ship, seemingly irritated at how his laugh continued to bother her. A lean woman having a wavy blonde hair cut short above her shoulders. A pair of brown eyes stared across the sea as her figure stood upon the bow, observing the distant land in which they currently sail into. Unlike her fellow Spriggans, she wore her top with a simple bandeau adorned with wavy white laces above it. She wore a pair of loosely striped pants coupled with a golden armor gauntlet strapped on her right and a wing-like ornament located on her left.

Dimaria looked uncaringly at the noisy Spriggan with a mild look of disgust apart from her collected and elegant composure.

Wahl as the machine man he was called, rose up to his feet, looking at the woman in front of him with a look of disappointment. "Not enough! IT'S NOT ENOUGH! Those weaklings don't even stand a chance against our regular grunts. I didn't even have to bring out my favorite inventions since there's no one who's strong enough to match it. There's enough bodies to blow up!"

"Well, lucky for you, you'll find a lot of them at Ishgar. From what I heard, one of Brandish' goons got easily taken out."

"So I've heard... Heh, to think that Brandish had the gall to retreat from an Alvarez-controlled territory. That's considered a grave offense for someone like us in the Spriggans." Wahl answered in distaste.

"Don't pry too much about it. She was facing His Majesty's Etherious. Of course, it's something that even the Spriggan shouldn't underestimate."

A hint of interest grew on the Machina's face.

"His Majesty's demons, huh? I'm curious to see them for myself, I can't wait to get myself some action. It's a surprise that they even took out my doll. To think they'd have the power to overpower my Weakness Magic." He pondered, letting out a grin full of anticipation and excitement.

"Is Neinhart still below deck? He'd better be up here when we get to Hargeon. I don't want him dragging us down." Dimaria asked while looking around. A lack of their third Spriggan is nowhere to be found in the vicinity.

"He has his own objectives to fulfill. Right now, I feel like I'll be the only one this fleet would send in the battlefield to make it done." Wahl chuckled yet again in his arrogance.

Dimaria smirked in response, covering a malicious intent hiding under her expression as she watched him make his declaration.

A pair of widened eyes dawned on the two Spriggan's faces as soon as they felt a disturbing presence looming in the far distance. Other soldiers stationed around, looking confused at their leaders' sudden change of expression.

"What's wrong, Dimaria-sama?"

A low rumbling noise vibrated under the waters, colliding with each and every ship in the fleet that caused them to stop and survey their surroundings. Wahl narrowed his eyes as he used a pair of magic-induced goggled right in his eyes to investigate his surroundings.

"What was that just now?" Dimaria, having no such aid in sighting could only ask before being cut off by one of the guards.

"L-Lady Dimaria!" The soldier stuttered as soon as he was a few inches away from the Spriggan leader.

"What?"

"T-The waters... they're turning dark!"

Dimaria couldn't make sense of what she heard but it was then proved as her eyes darted back to the ocean that once housed it cerulean reflection now doused with dark and black soot that obscured everything. Dimaria could smell the death in the water as fishes started to float in the surface as if something had caused them to die.

The waters slowly raged as if a storm was brewing yet there are no giant clouds hovering overhead which eliminated their first assumption of a force of nature coming by.

The ships slowed down as the waters began smashing violently against the hull, splashing bits of dark water into the deck and drenched some of the soldiers nearby.

And it was only then, the whole crew heard a shout from Wahl.

"Shit! Don't fucking touch the water! It'll kill you!" He warned, earning a few confused looks from his allies, including Dimaria.

"What's with you all of a sudden? This is just―" Dimaria's voice was cut off short as soon as she heard a couple of thuds coming from the soldiers, specifically to the ones that got splashed by the dark water. "What the hell is going on?!"

Without warning, the troops collapsed on their feet, breathing for air as their drenched bodies in which the dark water had splashed slowly caused them to suffocate. Wahl extended his goggles to analyze the substance. A couple of sudden twitching in his eyes made him click his tongue in realization.

"As I suspected, this ain't ordinary water. It's all composed of carbon, iron and... anti-magic particles."

"Anti-Magic particles?!" Dimaria widened her eyes in surprise.

"Well, it looks like we're just about to meet our visitors," Wahl smirked. His eyes peering behind his head and over to the side of the ship. Then, in just a few seconds, a massive burst erupted as a large unknown creature surfaced from the dark waters. A huge shadow loomed the side of the deck as it descended down, seemingly crashing into it. A pair of large hands clasped together as it slammed right through the ship, smashing through the hull in the process.

Wahl and Dimaria jumped away just in time as the ship they were in had just been obliterated along with its crew into the dark ocean. They recovered on the nearest ship they could find as they watched the unfortunate troops drown into the murky waters.

Their eyes darted back to the creature as it quickly plunged back down to the dark depths before disappearing. Both two were looking directly at the remnants of the ship they once boarded. Not even a single body floated in the water, leaving only wooden debris and other things left from the ship as it sank. The two had no time worrying about their unfortunate troops and simply focused on the situation they were in.

"Well, that's certainly quite a greeting, don't you think?" Wahl said.

"And a rough one at that too," Dimaria added. "Hope Neinhart escaped on time. He was below deck, remember?"

"He'll dumb enough if he got caught himself on that," Wahl blatantly mocked.

"Whatever... Anyways, it seems like we have ourselves some guests and they don't seem to like our approach to their precious Fiore."

"Heh, they got a lotta nerve breaking one of our precious ships."

Wahl ordered the whole fleet to a standstill as the two Spriggans looked ahead of their directions. On the other hand, Dimaria clicked her tongue as her gaze shifted away from the ocean and looked up above.

"It would've been a shame if we have to take this any longer. Shouldn't you be already showing yourself already rather than sitting up there, intruder?" Her eyes fixed with a murderous intent towards the highest sail of the ship where an unknown figure seems to appear out of nowhere without noticing.

"Ohya? I was sure Torafuzar got all of them... Damn blockhead sure doesn't get his job done right." The figure answered in a carefree tone in his voice. The light of the sun made it hard for the people down below to adjust before finally able to spot the figure sitting on the top of the main mast.

A tall male figure stared down at them with mocking eyes, similar to that of Wahl which made him quite pissed for some reason. A beige-colored scarf hung around his neck as it fluttered in the wind.

The guards looked up in disbelief while Wahl and Dimaria maintained their composure as they calmly stared right back at the figure in anticipation who decided to speak. "I take it that you two are the leaders in this fleet."

"You've got some nerve boarding our ship like that. You lookin' for a death wish, punk?" Wahl rebutted with a mock of his own.

"Tough shot coming from a piece of metal."

"Oh, so you know what I am, huh?" Wahl replied, seemingly impressed.

"I forgot to introduce myself."

"We don't need to know the names of someone who's about to die. So how about we play nice and accept your death with these hands, HUH?!" Wahl answered viciously. His face flooded with malice, earning a killing atmosphere around him. Anyone standing near him would not dare come near him at his point, even his troops. As someone respected as one of the Emperor's twelve elite guards, his power shouldn't be underestimated. However, it was not the same for the man as he chuckled under his breath, amused by his answer.

Instead, he smirked. He stood up from the pole as his mouth opened for a mocking response, revealing the set of canines as he lifted both of his hands in a circular fashion. Responding back to his words, he replied. "Interesting! Name's Jackal, be sure to remember that in hell!"

What came after was a series of massive explosions as several ships were caught up in a circular blast that threw the whole fleet into disorder. Wahl and Dimaria had little time to react as they looked around, seeing the explosions appear out of thin air and wiped out several of their ships in the process.

"You bastard..." Wahl muttered in hostility.

"END sends his regards." Jackal jumped off the pole before placing both of his hands up front with a gesture.

The two Spriggans widened in shock at his next move.

"Go Boom!"

The ship they were standing on, immediately flashed in a blinding glow. A series of huge explosions boomed around the vicinity, sending shockwaves into the water and obliterated everything. Without warning of an impending attack, the troops were sent into disarray as the explosions in the distance caught their sights. A series of panics arose within the surrounding ships as the explosions triggered the arrival of their enemy. Troops scrambled to their positions at the attack. Many went to their designated stations to defend the rest of the fleet.

Wahl leaped away from the wreckage as he managed to stay in one piece despite suffering a point-blank explosion. His right arm transformed into a form of a shield that summoned a force field in order to protect him from the blast. His quick analysis of Jackal's power enabled him to use his appropriate inventions to counter his deadly explosion.

This is the first time he'd ever seen someone capable of emitting explosions out of thin air in just a flick of a finger. As far as his analysis goes, it required multiple ingredients or even a magic incantation to emit a blast.

There are few exceptions to this case with Eileen's high enchantments that could manipulate the particles to create a similar outcome. Though in his case, it wasn't even required to do it.

His conclusion was obvious.

This man has the power to create explosions at will.

However, he hasn't heard of anyone possessing a magic that could create such a thing. His expertise in technology and magic made sure that it would need a catalyst to create such a thing. In his eyes, he merely did it with so little effort.

Wahl changed his feet into a giant curved board as he landed safely from the waters, protecting himself from the poisonous anti-magic particles that mixed with it. But as he landed, his eyes caught sight of the large creature from the below.

"Tch." The Machina gritted his teeth as he forced to dodge himself away from the impending attack. The large creature emerged from the waters, missing the Spriggan in the process before diving back again to the waters.

"Another one, huh?! So it wasn't just any animal." Wahl muttered.

"I'd use words appropriately if I were you..." Jackal called out from a floating debris with his finger pointed down as if giving Wahl some sort of warning.

The Spriggan was confused at first but then immediately widened his eyes in shock as he felt a strong presence suddenly appearing behind his back, causing him to turn around for a split second only to meet a massive backswing headed straight for his head.

Raising his left arm in defense, he transformed it in a form of a shield as the steel arm smacked against it, causing a powerful collision that sent vibrations which also rattled him in the process due to the force.

In the next moment, the machina was flying only to crash into one of the ships as the force overwhelmed his position. A huge blast erupted within the hull of the ship as troops panicked at the sight, obliterating the whole ship as well.

A couple of soldiers looked in panic as they saw one of the leaders get blown away from sight, leaving others to stare at the duo in fear.

After a few seconds, Wahl emerged from the smoke with little scratches on his mechanical body as if the force did little to no damage to his overall physical construct. "Hmph, it looks like some lowlives just don't know their place!"

Assuming a stance, Wahl simply lifted both his hands in a semi-stretched position. Two separate magic circles appeared right beside him which then later transformed into mechanical soldiers as his arsenal against the two.

"Weakness Creation. Confirming flaws and weakness from two hostiles. Commence attack, my soldiers!"

The two mecha-soldiers were equipped with rocket boosters from their backs to stay afloat from the dangerous waters. In their maker's words, the two made no hesitation to dash forth towards their respective opponents in fast speeds.

Jackal jumped high into the air from the incoming fist, narrowly missing his head by mere inches while Torafuzar took the blow head-on with little consequence. One followed the furry demon into the air to meet up with another attack. Its left arm transformed into a magic rifle and fired multiple bullets at the demon ruthlessly.

"Oops... That was close there." Jackal said so with a remark, dodging the deadly onslaught in the air and stretched one of his arms towards his enemy. Their distance from each other was advantageous to his position as he can use his curse without the need to enter into close-combat. "Take this!"

With a shout, an explosion erupted in front of the approaching mecha without warning, engulfing it in a fiery blast. Jackal smirked confidently at his victory only to get cut off short by his real opponent's words.

"It's useless."

"What?!" As if to answer to his confusion, the mecha appeared from the smoke without much of a scratch. As a result, Jackal gritted his teeth, forcing himself to dodge yet again as the distance between them had finally closed.

He doesn't want resorting to close-combat tactics yet so he continued dodging the soldier's attacks as well as trying to create some distance between them in the process. However, because of the opponent's rocket boosters, it's difficult to make it happen.

"There's no winning for you here. My magic analyzes my opponent's weakness as well as giving me the appropriate solution to counter it in the process. You lack any close-combat capabilities and this type of weakness is used against you." Wahl started as if explaining throughout the battle.

"That soldier is equipped with an absorption shield that can counter your bomb powers as well. It's a perfect weakness creation."

"Hah! Weakness? Me? Don't make me laugh!" Jackal's firm response soon boomed in the air. Coming out from the smoke created by his current enemy, he lifted his hand again as soon as he gained some distance. "Maybe you're forgetting the fact that we're not humans."

The mecha emerged from the smoke with a relentless charge towards the retreating demon. Noticing his stance, it simply raised his arm to deploy the absorption field.

 **BOOOOOOOM***

Another explosion occurred. This time, it wasn't placed in front of the soldier but inside it.

Wahl widened his eyes as the soldier exploded within, leaving nothing but debris in its wake, resulting its inability to continue battle.

At the same time, an eruption of water was heard on the Spriggan side, revealing Torafuzar along with a destroyed mecha in his hand.

Seeing his weakness creations which are meant to counter his opponents, disposed of in an instant, Wahl loosened his overconfidence as glared towards them in enmity.

"Tch. Don't get ahead of yourselves, weaklings!"

Placing his arms down, the machina assumed a four-legged pose as magic circles appeared in the air right beside him along with some compositions of different elements.

"Composite construct of high heat missile confirmed. Alchemical fusion in progress... Fusion complete. Initiating missile bombardment."

Muttering in a computer-like voice, Wahl launched multiple missiles straight to the two, prompting both two counterattack.

"I told it's already useless!" Jackal shouted as he swung his arms yet again to create explosions near the incoming missile, causing them to explode as well.

Torafuzar, on the other hand, swam down as the missiles splashed into the dark ocean, exploding in the process. He took the chance to attack the Spriggan as he took to the depths and swam in great speeds. This prompted the robotic Spriggan to change his tactics against them.

With a few seconds of still-like movement, Wahl transformed his body, covering his entire body in a mechanical battle suit with robotic arm gauntlets with a beam section located in his palm. A series of firearms were mounted on his wings and feet along with a set of armor created around his chest and face for protection.

"Weakness confirmed around two hostiles. Engaging close-combat system. Assault Wahl, ready for action!"

The giant Etherious emerged right in front of him with both heavy arms clasped together. Wahl propelled his boosters as he flew backward, avoiding the attack before taking off high in the air.

His new form floated gracefully as he glared at the two in contempt. "To think that I would have to use this mode to dispose the likes of you. It seems like you're more than just petty demons from the book of the Emperor."

"Not as bad as a scrap metal. Let's enjoy this for a bit, will ya?"

Streams of rocket fire began to blow from the boosters around his back and feet. His hands stretched as he began to invoke another form of magic right in front of them. Jackal leaped fast from the waters with Torafuzar's help to meet his opponent.

"Analysis completed. Preparing appropriate combat approach to Anomaly #344. Capable of using 'Bomb Curse'. Curse is capable of creating explosions at will. Switching to emergency weapons."

A whirring buzz of sounds reverberated around Wahl's back, creating a massive cannon with intricate designs. One prominent feature was its double barrels placed right beside each other with lightning current passing violently around it.

"Railgun! Fire!"

He shouted as bursts of electricity emerged from the cannon, sending a huge wave of lightning down below towards Jackal at full speeds.

The demon, however, had simply stretched out an arm in front of him. "Tore into pieces!"

A point-blank explosion boomed, splitting the wave of electricity with the help of the shockwave, surprising the Spriggan.

"Kh―Then how about this!"

Another weapon was being constructed yet again to battle against the demon.

"Like I'll let you!" Jackal stretched his hand once more, pointing towards Wahl. Another explosion erupted, specifically right behind the Spriggan's back that immediately shocked him as the blast sent him slamming back down. The weapon failed to materialize and was simply scattered into bits before plunging down to the ocean.

Wahl couldn't maneuver himself quickly due to the force of the explosion pushing towards the demon who had his fist clenched tightly around his waist.

"Tch! Don't underestimate me!" He shouted, transforming one of his arms into a metal fist with rocket boosters at the back to enhance its momentum power.

A deafening boom slammed across the air, sending ripples into the waters as both combatants float into a standstill with their arms-stretched fists collided each other with equal force. Wahl was surprised to see the demon able to produce as much power in his own fist.

And after few moments, the two had undergone a series of attacks. All matter of offensive attacks were thrown at each other as Jackal and Wahl threw fists and kicks at each other in mid-air, booming waves all across the sea without any regard to the inhabitants lying around them. The men on the ships were stunned at the spectacle with only afterimages left with each collision of their attacks, resulting a non-fiery explosion in their wake.

They were too fast to follow as both displayed uncanny speeds that a normal human couldn't afford to track. It was unclear to them who was gaining the upper hand.

Going back, the two fighters continued their array of onslaughts to each other. Both have been releasing as many blows against each other, resulting a counter in the last second.

"You're pretty good for a demon! I'm really pumped up!"

"Heh! Not as much as you being a lot aggressive than me. I should be giving you a warning though."

"Not a chance!"

Sending a bone-cracking swing to his face, the stalemate broke as Jackal lost his focus and eventually got flung down to the sea. The Spriggan smirked confidently as he saw him crash down only to resurface back to the water with no harm from the contents it brought along.

"Really... You're just as impulsive as that _idiot_ when it comes to letting others talk even for just a second." Jackal moved his jaw, cracking up a few bones to make sure it's intact. The blow was not fatal but it certainly packed a punch, especially from a machine.

"What's wrong? Cat got your tongue? And here I thought you'll be spicing things up for me. I've grown tired of facing worthless thugs. You're the first one to have been able to hold out against me for so long." He commended with a haughty remark.

"Well, thanks but no thanks. Moreover, I should probably part this warning to you. You seem to be the type of guy who knows everything, you know?" Jackal shrugged.

Wahl's eyes slowly narrowed in contempt. "Huh?"

"Do you know the other function of my curse? It's not just a simple method of creating explosions at will." Jackal raised his hand, pointed at the Spriggan in anticipation.

There was a brief confusion held onto his face before noticing a slow glow coming from one of his arms which seemed to be exact thing his opponent was currently pointing at. At that moment, his eyes grew in shock as multiple glowing markings began to appear, topping each existing marking glow. His quick analysis confirmed the nature of these markings that alarmed him in the process. "This is―"

He finally realized what Jackal was trying to convey during that time.

"That's right. Everything I touch would instantly turn into bombs. Now then, can you count just how many times you touched me, metal-head?"

"You fucking bast―" Wahl growled violently but was cut off as the bomb markings slowly began to whizz out sounds, shining with enough light to be let seen by the whole fleet.

"Do well to enjoy your time in hell."

"Activating Defense Wahl Mode! Deploying all defensive mechanisms! Executing evasive mane―"

Despite his efforts to defend against the curse, there was little time for the Spriggan to react as the area simply shone, blinding everything for just a moment.

And then, a gigantic explosion shook the entire sea.

 ***BBBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM***

Waves rose up as high as buildings at 30 feet, swallowing nearby unfortunate ships with a wall of water that engulfed their very being. Even Torafuzar had to brace from the impact as the force of the explosion was equivalent to that of a blast capable of leveling a huge city if it were to occur inland.

The number of markings caught by the Spriggan accumulated through a series of medium-sized explosions. Through that accumulation, it created a single powerful explosion that could hundreds of people in a wide area of its range.

The Etherious hid his astonishment at the destruction as soon as the massive cloud soared through the sky and the explosion waning down after a few more seconds.

Traces of ship debris were reduced to little pieces of woods that floated around the still raging waters.

There was no sight of the Spriggan as the smoke in front of them continued to linger for a bit longer.

After a few more moments, the smoke cleared and from its center was the Spriggan who taken the blast all on his own.

A flash of surprise went on the two demons' faces.

"He survived... that blast?" Torafuzar spoke in disbelief.

"Tch. What a monster." Jackal clicked his tongue in irritation. There was no way for him to be able to survive the blast. Even he had to take some distance away moments before the explosion due to the heat it released around the area.

He should've been incinerated at least.

The broken Spriggan plunged as it had no other means of staying afloat any longer. His body crashed down into one of the ships lying around that survived the explosion.

Jackal merely landed next to a floating debris with his eyes now leaving the machina and towards the other side where he could see Dimaria standing in one of the floating debris. He locked his eyes cautiously as soon as he noticed her stare towards him.

The robot aside, this Spriggan is able to escape his bombardments with ease as if it was child's play. Every move he took ever since attacking the fleet made sure of any chances of escaping his explosions minimal. In fact, of all the victims he had killed, only two of them were able to escape his near impossible attacks.

Additionally, she had been watching from the sidelines, refusing any intention to join in the fray as if she intentionally stood back to watch the fight.

That kind of action was either a stupid one or just plain overconfidence as did with the machina. And while he was leaning on the assumption of the former, he knew that she wasn't any short of a small fry. Let alone a huge threat to them... yet.

With Wahl currently lying in the smoke, the two now focused their attention on the watching Spriggan.

Noticing their approach, Dimaria let out an innocent remark. "Oh, so they finally turned their attention towards me, huh?"

It looks like it's time for her to act as well. The fight was anything but lackluster but it might just bring something more if she were to confront them directly on her own. She'll have her bickering with that arrogant machina once this is over.

The two demons stopped a fair distance away from her as they both came to a standstill. Eyes stared right onto each other, bearing hostile faces. It seems like it all comes down to who survives and who dies after this.

"I honestly didn't expect for His Majesty's demons to come to greet us this early. And here I thought we'd be on the same side." She began with a dismissive shake on her head.

Meanwhile, Jackal and Torafuzar narrowed their eyes in suspicions, confirming the information they got from their guild master about Zeref.

"So it was true after all..." Torafuzar muttered.

"You killed many of our men which is something that I just can't let past. Even going as far as taking on against one of the Spriggan 12. If you would gladly surrender and submit yourselves to me, I may just consider making your deaths way less painful than it should be." Dimaria offered, her eyes carried a dark and sadistic gaze that set her earlier personality into a straight flip to the side.

The two glared back with a frown. An insurmountable amount of magic began to emanate from the woman.

"Hah! Like we follow orders from some human. We do everything as we see fit. I don't need to be lectured by some bitch who's about to die anyway." Jackal mocked, his hands swaying into position to attack.

"Fufu... I wonder who's going to die between us?" She said so with a snicker before she made a click on her teeth as soon as she saw dashing towards her.

Their battle enters the second phase.

* * *

 _ **Elsewhere**_

* * *

The dried land covers the entire valley as life made no such attempt to colonize the drought-like ground. Winds blew moderately, carrying dust from the soil that obscures any vision from distant horizons. Mountains towered the horizons like walls from an arena.

Natsu sat down from one of the stone slabs located in his vicinity. His cloak now gone in his apparel, leaving only his old clothes that merely comprised that of a torn black overcoat and a gray baggy pants. His footwear now only consisted of sandals and his scaly scarf wrapped around his neck, partially covering his mouth.

His pink and unkempt hair fluttered wildly, dancing and bending around the wind's direction with every passing second. His arms both wrapped in thick white cloths and his horn made invisible from the naked eye.

His hand currently occupied with a small rock that was kept tossing in the air back and forth.

A diversion as he kept waiting for something.

A few minutes passed and his waiting finally came to an end.

Three figures stood now in his sights in the far distance of the valley, seemingly making their way towards his direction. His sharp eyes easily identified one of the figures that made glare in extreme animosity.

Within moments of their arrival, they stopped in front of him. His presence seemed to indicate as an obstacle to their path towards their destination.

With their figures finally within his sights, he was able to observe their features more clearly than before. Aside from the familiar old man he had come to face with a couple of days back, he caught two additional people he wasn't associated with.

One was a middle-aged man with an extremely short black hair, exposing his forehead along with a small tattoo of a skull engraved in the center. His face lacked eyebrows and his eyes were unusually small with prominent dark circles. His nose and jaw are well pronounced along with a distinct five o'clock shadow.

His attire simply consists of a purple spandex turtleneck, supported by a black blazer from the outside with matching black pants for his lower part. A pair of gloves sported his hands and an indescribable aura could be felt around him.

The other person, on the other hand, was a different matter.

His aura was nothing he had witnessed before. He could very well stand next to August in terms of power if not even higher. However, he had yet to witness it so he kept his guard around him as soon as he tried observing his features.

He's a man with medium-length height, roughly the same as his own. His hair was adorned to a wavy and spiky fashion that juts out at the top similar to that of a rabbit ear. His face consisted of thick eyebrows, sharp black eyes, and a scar located at the bridge of his nose. His clothes comprised that of a fancy white robe with red and black colors mixing in between.

One noticeable feature to his character was a large wheel of blades located on his back, all attached to each end like a dharma wheel. It was probably the reason why he carried such an aura, to begin with at first glance.

Natsu made no effort to delay things as he began to speak.

"So you've come. Spriggans."

* * *

 **A/N: And there you have it. Next chapter comes down to probably one of the most anticipated battles that I wished could've happened in the manga. It is also in the next chapter that we would probably feature Natsu and his fight as well.**

 **Anyways, going back at hand, as war loomed closer, there will be multiple perspectives that would happen, especially to important ones that would progress Natsu and Sayla's development throughout the stories so there will be some other battles that will be overlooked or left to assumption for the sake of the progress.**

 **I'll see you on the next chapter! ^^**

 **\- The wiErDos send their regards...**


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